“I’m doing the work of the Ditsobotla municipality by supplying my community with water, and I can’t help but worry about my water bill because one day it will come and I wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
This is how Sarah Mafora from Byldeville, North West, described the desperate situation faced by more than 14,000 residents in her township – who have been battling with inconsistent watersupply.
For more than five years, her humble home had been the only source of uninterrupted water to her community where water is available for only four hours – between 6am and 10am – leaving the rest of the residents with dry taps. “I can’t explain why I have water throughout the day,” Mafora told Sowetan yesterday.
“It’s been like this every day for the past five years. People from Blydeville and Bugersdorp come to my house with their 20-litre buckets to fill them up. About 100 people could come in a day with a bucket or two, depending on their water needs. I can’t turn anyone away because water is a necessity.”
Sowetan watched as dozens of people took turns filling up their buckets. A single hosepipe connected to a tap in her yard runs through the palisade fence for residents to use. .
Mafora said the municipality has never billed her for the water since residents started getting water from her. “They told me they would not bill me as long as other people use the water but I’m worried that the day they do, I would not be able to afford it because my water meter reading is already too high,” she said.
Ditsobotla has been faced with service delivery issues, which the community attributes to unstable political infighting over who should run the municipality. This came to head last week when two mayors, two municipal managers and two speakers supported by rival factions all claimed authority.
This reportedly resulted in violent clashes, gunfire and injuries.
So dire is the political instability in Ditsobotla – which covers towns like Lichtenburg and Coligny, and townships like Itsoseng – that within six years, to January 2023, it has had 14 municipal managers, four mayors and four speakers. Due to poor leadership and management, the council has been repeatedly placed under administration since 2021, led by the provincial department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta).
Despite Mafora’s intervention, the plight of Ditsobotla residents continues.
Yesterday, the residents said power outages were common and that their roads were riddled with potholes and the rubbish was not being collected.
A retired engineer at the municipality said the council had enough water to supply all its more than 200,000 residents but lacked the will do so. “The municipality just lacks qualified staff and regular maintenance, which have now resulted in the water shortage problems we are dealing with,” he said.
“When I was employed there, there was never as big a water problem as there is now. I have tried to freelance for the city so they can leverage on my expertise, and so Ditsobotla can have water again but they did not take up the offer. Adding to water issues are the electricity, potholed roads and financial woes which have seen councillors and workers not getting regular pay.”
By Thursday, Burgersdorp and Kiesserville residents have not had power for a week after cables were stolen. According to residents and ward councillor Willem Pretorius, the municipality is so broke it can’t even replace the stolen cable.
“I have approached the municipality and I was told there are no funds. I have been talking to small businesses to assist with buying the cable, which costs R25,000 and is being outsourced from Joburg. The electricity is likely to be back tomorrow when we get the cable. This is not the first time this happens and they would tell us there is no money,” said Pretorius.
Sowetan witnessed cars zigzagging the roads to avoid hitting potholes, with some covered in water, making it difficult to see them, especially at night. Almost all the roads in Burgersdorp, Blydeville, Oletsang and Itsoseng had potholes.
“Immediately when I drive out of my house I hit a pothole and they continue from the township right into town. They cause a lot of damage to our cars and we have to change tyres very often,” said resident Mmutsoame Motsamai.
Cogta spokesperson Dineo Thapelo said they were aware of Ditsobotla’s challenges and a multi-disciplinary team comprising of officials from different government departments had been established to unblock the service delivery issues.
Regarding last week’s appointment of duplicated officials, Thapelo said they have requested a report on the two council meetings that led to the appointments.
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