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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini has received shocking confirmation that there is currently no welding gas available in the eThekwini, which significantly hampers much-needed repairs to infrastructure.

This revelation comes after the DA received a tip-off that crucial services were not going ahead in the city due to the non-availability of welding gas. The DA immediately posed questions to the municipality's senior officials responsible and received confirmation that indeed there was no welding gas available due to some departments owing the service provider.

Welding gas is often used to fix water leaks and major steel pipe bursts or cracks ranging from 100 mm to 900 mm in size.

The unavailability of welding gas has a detrimental impact on the supply of water and the repair of major water-related complaints.

According to the information that the DA has received, there is a contract in place, however the service provider is refusing to deliver because of outstanding payments from units within the very same cluster. This is totally unacceptable.

Even more dreadful is the fact that there are critical service delivery projects which have been delayed due to the unavailability of welding gas. One of the projects where millions have been spent to upgrade the pipeline from Grange to Redcliffe Reservoir has still not been commissioned due to the unavailability of welding gas. The construction of the new pipeline feeding Redcliff Reservoir has been completed and now awaiting a tie that requires welding.

Sadly the community in this area continues to have interrupted water supply and have been informed that the tie will not go ahead due to the unavailability of the vital welding gas.

Just recently the DA exposed the eThekwini municipality’s Water and Sanitation Maintenance store which had empty shelves and with absolutely no capacity to efficiently respond and resolve water-related complaints. Instead, the municipality spokesperson, Musa Mayisela, reduced this tragedy to politics and ludicrously blamed load shedding.

The ANC leadership in eThekwini have made no effort to take responsibility for this and in doing so have showed huge disregard for the ratepayers and residents of this city.

As the DA, we are committed to getting to the bottom of the uncaring and inexplicable behaviour of the eThekwini municipality towards its residents and the ratepayers.

Issued by The DA