RESIDENTS of Sol Plaatje Municipality have been forced to drink muddy water for 13 years.
Now, the Congress of the People (Cope) has called on the water and sanitation ministry to take over the services functions of the municipality.
Cope leader in North West Jimmy Besent said on Wednesday, 31 January, the consistent crisis of the municipality's lack of reliable, safer water and sanitation services was there for everyone to see.
“It has been coming for 13 years without any impactful and sustainable solutions. Of late, the situation has been fast deteriorating rather than improving. No administrative or political leader in the municipality has ever been held accountable for such massive failures,” he said.
He claimed the integrity of governance and management systems have been compromised by a failure of leadership at all levels of the Sol Plaatje Municipality.
ALSO READ: Councillor exposed in Usindiso shacks saga
News24 reported on 30 January that when the water supply is eventually turned on by the Sol Plaatje Municipality every morning after the nightly shutdown, residents of Soul City and Kutlwanong/Club 2000 in Kimberley are forced to run their taps for an hour or more before the muddy water clear.
Communities have had to resort to buying bottled water since last year, as they do not trust the "dirty" water that comes out of their taps.
Besent said the Auditor-General has reported countless times on the failures and residents have written letters of complaint to some of the Chapter 9 Institutions, while others have filed criminal complaints with the Hawks to investigate serious allegations of mismanagement and corruption at the municipality.
“These and other actions have not produced the desired results. Today, we announce a public campaign to build awareness and organise people to join a campaign of action to restore accountability and responsiveness at Sol Plaatje Municipality,” he said.
He said failure to intervene will force Cope to approach the High Court to seek an order to compel the government to fulfill its obligations under the constitution.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ANC Lekgotla on Tuesday, deputy minister of water and sanitation David Mahlobo admitted that there were about 10 dysfunctional municipalities in the country that were unable to provide residents with clean water.
He said the government, through the ministry of cooperative governance and traditional affairs and the ANC, have agreed to support them rather than take over their functions.
