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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is appealing to the provincial government to urgently help mitigate the impact of the Emthanjeni water crisis after large parts of De Aar have been without water for over two weeks causing severe disruptions to households, businesses, old age homes, schools and health care facilities.

An oversight inspection of water infrastructure conducted on Friday by a team of DA councillors including myself, Gerhard Engelbrecht and Roweda Adams-Beukes exposed a lack of maintenance aggravated by high stages of loadshedding, as the underlying causes of the water shortages. The recently repaired water booster pumps pose a challenge where they are flooding. The main reservoir is leaking and is only 12,3% full. Broken water pipes further contribute to low water pressure.

The De Aar hospital is one of the worst affected facilities. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the reservoir intended to feed the hospital, has been dysfunctional for years as the pumps are affected by consistently low water levels. While the Emthanjeni previously availed two boreholes near the hospital, the Health Department has failed to procure the two required solar pumps, to operationalize them. This is despite the DA urging the Health Department to budget for this at the start of the new financial year.

The DA is pressurizing the municipality to urgently attend to the ongoing water challenges. In the absence of a water tanker to supplement the current use of a small bakkie with a Jo-Jo tank, we have requested the MEC of Roads and Public Works to avail water trucks to augment water provision to affected communities.

We have submitted a follow-up request to the MEC of Health, and the MEC of COGHSTA, to help facilitate the installation of solar pumps at the two boreholes. We will also seek updates from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Department of Water and Sanitation, regarding water complaints previously lodged with them.

The DA will further meet with community organisations to plot a coordinated response to De Aar’s ongoing water problems. All Emthanjeni residents deserve access to the sustainable provision of water.

Issued by Cllr Ridwaan Smith - Emthanjeni Municipality