Ngaka Modiri Molema District must urgently address water supply in rural areas

Issued by Cllr Arista Annandale – DA Councillor: Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality
30 Jan 2023 in Press Statements

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr. Arista Annandale.

The DA in the Mahikeng Local Municipality conducted oversight inspections in several villages surrounding Mahikeng and found that leaking water tanks, shortages of water pumps, and dry boreholes are the order of the day.

The DA and communities have repeatedly reported persistent water supply interruptions, but the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, as the bulk water agent, has done nothing to alleviate the suffering of residents. The community of Setumo Park has been without water for almost a month.

Residents of Tsetse village receive strained water supply from only four out of 15 operational boreholes. Many residents struggle to access water close to where they live because broken pumps are not repaired or replaced. (See pictures here and here.) In addition, the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality fails to provide diesel generators or pumps to ensure water supply during extended loadshedding.

Large areas of Modimola Village are without water supply, while residents living close to water tanks suffer water shortages due to leaks or empty water tanks due to a lack of a sufficient number of boreholes to serve the village. (See pictures here and here.)

These difficulties are present throughout the Ngaka Modiri Molema District and are not unique to the rural communities near Mahikeng. The district municipality’s failure to address the water crisis reveals a general inability to allocate funding, resources, and staff effectively.

The DA will write to the Nagaka Modiri Molema District’s Executive Mayor, Cllr. Khumalo Molefe, the Municipal Manager, Allan Losaba, and the Director of Infrastructure, Mohammed Rasool, to request that they urgently address abandoned water projects, dry boreholes, dysfunctional water pumps, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure on water tanks that remain empty.

Denying people and their livestock access to water, especially given this summer’s intense heat, is inhumane and cruel.

The DA will continue to apply pressure to ensure that the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality supplies the water that residents desperately need to survive.