Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
by Andrew Louw – DA Northern Cape Premier Candidate
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Date: 23 January 2019
Release: Immediate
Today, I accompanied DA MP Dirk Stubbe and DA councillors from the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality on oversight inspections at the Newton reservoir as well as the water purification plant and pumping stations at Riverton. We went specifically to conduct a fact finding mission and to check the quality of water infrastructure in light of the ongoing water crisis in Kimberley.
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Water is an essential resource and it is unacceptable that residents are left without access to water, often for days on end. This is not a political issue, but a bread and butter issue. We have to live with our consciences and when we know that hospitals or clinics have no water, we have a responsibility as public representatives to find out what is happening.
The facts we saw today shows that the purification plant and pumping stations at Riverton appears to be in fair working condition. As can be seen from the accompanying photograph, the water level at Riverton is also apparently high enough to meet the city’s water demand.
It therefore appears that the reason why the municipality cannot meet the city’s water demand has more to do with poor maintenance, crumbling water infrastructure and a lack of planning to ensure that infrastructure keeps abreast with the pace of development in the city.
This is evident from the abandoned pipes left at Newton reservoir. The pipes were meant to be installed as part of upgrades which would have reduced leakages, eliminated the frequent shutdowns and allowed for residents to have greater access to water. The contractor, however, only returned to site at the start of the year to collect his equipment and has not been seen since.
Considering how frequently contractors abandon government projects due to lack of payment, we can only speculate about the reasons for his decision to leave the project unfinished. Our councillors will, however, be following up this matter in council so that we can find out exactly how much has been spent on this project and when it will be completed, so that water and a sense of normalcy can be restored to Kimberley.
The DA will be asking a lot of interesting questions in council relating to this water crisis which I believe has been created by the ANC for political purposes in order to channel funds back to the ANC.
It is also interesting to note how many deviations relating to water infrastructure projects are referred to council after it has been approved, giving rise to the view that supply chain management processes are being manipulated for political gain.
Water leakages, burst pipes and the loss of purified water is a common occurrence in Kimberley. In the 2016/17 financial year, the municipality suffered water losses of almost 50% as a high volume of purified water went to waste. Instead of blaming ratepayers for using water, the municipality would do better to dedicate its resources to reducing water wastage.
From what we see, it is clear that the water crisis is largely created and sustained by the incompetence and corruption of a failing ANC government which only has its own interests at heart. I therefore call on all residents to make sure that they are registered to vote this weekend, so we can bring change to the province which will speed up the delivery of basic services.
Media Enquiries
Andrew Louw
DA Northern Cape Premier Candidate
082 383 6914
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Researcher
071 251 5558
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