Zoutpansberger
22 November 2013
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Vhembe’s total shutdown of water treatment plant causes severe water shortages and frustration
This is ridiculous! By Linda van der Westhuizen
Dry taps, dirty babies and stinking toilets … These are the results of the municipality’s inability to deliver a consistent water supply to Makhado (Louis Trichardt). Add to this residents’ extra expenditure to buy drinking water, put up a tank or sink a borehole (if you can afford it), pay extra for electricity to pump water, and still receive a municipal account for water, then it comes as no surprise that residents are up in arms. AfriForum attorney Werner Human said on Tuesday that he was awaiting final confirmation from the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM),
Workers can be seen cleaning the channel which should convey clean water coming from the sand filters. The sand filters also had to be fixed. Photo supplied.
the town’s water authority, for a date to meet their lawyers. “Their lawyers indicated that they are available this Friday, Monday and Tuesday. We will go through the court order, point by point. If the negotiations fail and there is a legal basis, the court will be approached again,” said Human and mentioned that the town’s water crisis had flared up again in a unique way when AfriForum discovered why a brand new pump was giving trouble and the plant had to be cleaned. This resulted in the recent spate of continuous waterless taps, which has been dragging on for more than seven days in some parts of town. People are really suffering without water. Ms Chantel Fogwell has a five-year-old toddler and a baby of four months to keep clean and do her washing, without water. A 33-year-old woman of Vorster Street said that the water situation was driving her up the wall. “The worst is that you cannot bath. We have to beg for water, but people don’t want to help anymore, because their electricity bill goes sky high with all the extra pumping of water. Yet, we got a water account of R800 last month. This is ridiculous!” she said. Ms Maria Venter (82) has no water tank and her grandchildren have to deliver water to her, which is a mammoth task since they themselves do not have tanks. Residents are furious. “These people [municipal officials] are not serious about delivering water services. There is no maintenance plan. The people are very nice, but they are hopeless at their jobs. It is not right that the community gets no water and this is becoming ‘normal’ for them. I am not going to accept it, which is why I am leaving this town,” said Mr Lampie Schoeman. On Sunday (17th), five water trucks were made available to bring relief to the residents, but alas, not one of the tankers had a drop of water in them. “I phoned VDM’s manager and asked if we
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that the town had no water. According to his understanding, the Albasini water plant should have been shut down only for the weekend for cleaning. AfriForum revealed the state of dysfunction of the Albasini water treatment plant three weeks ago after a series of visits. (Contd on P2)
The brand new pump at the Albasini dam water treatment plant broke down too often and AfriForum investigated the plant. They found that the sludge building up in the inoperative system was clogging it up and causing great problems. The system had to be cleaned out and repaired. One sediment tank had been cleaned by Sunday, 17 November. Vhembe District Municipality officials can be seen around the sediment tank. VDM acted contrary to the advice of AfriForum to renovate in stages and operate on one system or phase, and instead shut the entire plant down, resulting in waterless taps in town. Photo supplied.
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should deliver air to the suffering people. Has their technical services director made no plans for water delivery?” asked Mr Wally Schultz, chairperson of AfriForum Louis Trichardt. VDM’s municipal manager, Mr Masala Makumule, said that it was “confusing” for him to hear from the Zoutpansberger about residents’ feedback
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