Also read: Daily lotto uitslae vir 10 Augustus 2023
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is closely monitoring the Kimberley water shutdown in order to push for speedy solutions where challenges arise. This comes after the city’s water was cut last night and is due to be turned on again on Monday, 14 August.
The DA is concerned by an apparent lack of implementation of Sol Plaatje’s water interruption plans, as was evident during today’s various oversight inspections to several sites, including Newton Reservoir and the Riverton Water Purification Plant, where we were requested to leave and informed that only certain councillors would be allowed entry.
DA councillors convened at the mechanical complex at 7am this morning, as pre-arranged with all councillors by the municipality. On arrival, we found that the municipality had yet to allocate trucks to wards, mark trucks and allocate drivers. We also found that some of the stationary Jo-jo tanks were not prepared for the shutdown beforehand. They were only getting their fittings attached this morning and would only be placed thereafter.
Councillors from the ANC were also hijacking water tankers meant for other wards, like the tanker meant for Ward 24 that had been redirected by a councillor to Phutanang. Sol Plaatje indicated in its briefing to councillors on Tuesday that 54 water tankers in total, which includes tankers plus flat bed trucks with Jo-Jos, would be available for the duration of the water shutdown. This means there should be at least one tanker allocated to each of the 32 wards. If this is indeed the case, then there should be no reason to divert tankers away from their intended use.
We have reported our concerns to the municipal manager, who has given his assurance at a water briefing this afternoon, that there will be no recurrence of tanker hijacking. The DA also requested that we be allowed to carry out our oversight duties, without being refused entry to key sites and that from here onwards, all plans be properly actioned, with any further preparations also to be made ahead of time. This is necessary to ensure the least possible disruption to residents.
DA councillors are available to assist with water queries and the public is encouraged to reach out to us for help when needed.
*PRESS RELEASE
Also read: Daily lotto uitslae vir 10 Augustus 2023
