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The Democratic Alliance in the Northern Cape is calling on COGHSTA MEC, Bentley Vass, to urgently intervene in the current water crisis in Kimberley.

This comes after Sol Plaatje municipality has plunged the city into a what has become a largely manmade water crisis.

The DA is deeply concerned by yesterday’s late notification that the city is now on stage five water restrictions. The restrictions will undoubtedly have a huge impact on business and the daily lives of all our citizens.

The water debacle in Kimberley has been poorly managed by the failing ANC for at least the past ten years. Sol Plaatje has done little to curb water wastage, and on any given day, you can find a street with a burst pipe in the city. Sol Plaatje has also not planned ahead for adequate infrastructure upgrades and maintenance to ensure accessibility of water to all residents of Kimberley.

Sol Plaatje’s glaring incompetence, coupled with hot and dry conditions, will spell a gloomy future for residents of Kimberley if remedial action is not immediately taken.

The DA has written to MEC Vass, calling for an urgent investigation into Sol Plaatje’s water woes by an independent body. We want to know exactly how the funds intended for water infrastructure were spent over the past ten years. We also want Vass to seek the recommendations of a suitably qualified engineer on how best to deal with the current water crisis, as Sol Plaatje is clearly unable to deal with it. The DA also wants the findings of this investigation to be made known to all residents of Kimberley at an open meeting.

In the meantime, we are also calling on voters to hold the ANC accountable for failing to secure Kimberley’s water infrastructure. It’s time to dry up the votes for the ANC before they completely dry up our water.

Only change under a DA-led government will ensure that access to water is prioritised and infrastructure upgraded and repaired, to ensure that the right to access to water is not violated further by Sol Plaatje municipality.

Issued by The DA