Note to broadcaster: Please find linked soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Lourens Cromhout
Lack of maintenance, leadership, and accountability directly results in the loss of precious clean drinking water and poor road conditions in the City of Matlosana.
For six weeks now, a burst pipe on the corner of Martie Street and Oom Jacob Street in Meiringspark has resulted in thousands of litres of clean drinking water flowing down the street into the storm water ditch. In a world where clean drinking water is becoming a commodity, this is unacceptable.(See video and photo).
The City of Matlosana recorded a water loss of 58% due to leaks and poor infrastructure.
It is not only the loss of precious drinking water that is a cause for concern, but also the damage that the water leaks cause on the roads, where the constant running of water on the tar creates potholes.
DA councillors report these leaks on a weekly basis. However, there is a slow reaction time due to a shortage of vehicles, allowing only one team to attend to water leakages at a time. A shortage of proper tools slows down the repair time even more.
In a DA-run municipality, proper maintenance, reporting and support systems are key to effective service delivery, and that is where DA differences are visible.