The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West has requested the national Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu and the North West Premier Job Mokgoro to intervene in the North West water crisis.

“Due to the complete collapse in local governance in each municipality in the North West, the water reticulation infrastructure throughout the province is in an advanced state of decay due to a lack of effective maintenance and adequate upgrades resulting in millions of cubic litres of purified water that go to waste instead of into the taps in people’s homes. The failure to expand the water infrastructure hampers the expansion and establishment of sanitation networks, which also, unfortunately, finds itself in an advanced state of decay. Throughout every North West town, raw sewage leaks are a common sight in town centres and in communities. The seeping raw sewage not only poses a public health hazard but also pollutes freshwater sources and streams, leading to environmental degradation, which negatively impacts on the agriculture, conservation and tourism industries,” said DA shadow minister of the water and sanitation department..

“Without adequate water supply and infrastructure, there can be no adequate sanitation services. Coupled with the security of electricity supply, these three crucial services form the foundation of all social-economic activity. Not a single municipality in North West has a local water management plan. Failure to plan is quite plainly planning to fail – and this is exactly what has happened in the province.”

The DA in North West is currently conducting an extensive audit on the water and sanitation problems in every town and community in the province and we will we make that specific information available to government in order for them to respond immediately to the water crisis so that ordinary citizens can enjoy some relief. “It is a betrayal of our freedom and our Constitution that people in North West have to endure the collapse of basic services as a direct result of the total collapse in governance here.”