THE DA has taken the fight against Gauteng's water crisis to Parliament.
The party has tabled a motion to debate the social and economic impact of the collapsing water infrastructure in the province.
DA MP, Haseena Ismail, submitted the motion following another week of indiscriminate water outages across the province, leaving thousands of households without water.
The party is also aggrieved that the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) surrendered R355 million in grant funding for Rand Water.
DA’s Gauteng MPL, Nico de Jager, said the return of the millions to treasury has a far-reaching consequence for the province since it was meant for Rand Water, a vital source of water in Gauteng.
“It would have been more effective to use these funds to maintain, improve, or expand Rand Water's dilapidated water infrastructure at a time when the utility is struggling to keep up with the high-water demand in Gauteng."
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De Jager pointed out that failure to allocate R355 million to water infrastructure projects may lead to further delays in planned projects, potentially affecting water supply reliability and quality for the province's residents.
He said inadequate water infrastructure could also hinder economic growth and development in Gauteng.
De Jager claimed: “Businesses and industries rely on a stable and sufficient water supply to operate effectively. Therefore, failure to invest in water infrastructure may deter investments and negatively impact economic growth and job creation.
"Gauteng residents continue to face continued water supply challenges and breakdowns in services, such as interruptions, shortages, or quality issues, due to a lack of investment in the water infrastructure. It's not surprising that residents are increasingly frustrated with the government's continuous failures and discontent with its handling of the situation.”
The DA has demanded that the Gauteng MEC for Cogta, Mzi Khumalo, take immediate action to rectify the issue.
Ismail said the DA championed a petition garnering thousands of signatures in 2023 to compel the minister of water to act against the Rand Water CEO immediately.
“We called for this as it is evident. He's unable to fulfil his duties. Almost six months later, everything has remained the same. Taps remain dry, and Rand Water’s executive has still not accounted for the humanitarian crises they cause,” said De Jager.
