Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Gert du Plessis
The residents of Rustenburg Local Municipality are facing a severe and escalating water supply crisis due to the municipality’s failure to maintain essential infrastructure and ongoing material shortages. This crisis is exacerbated by the regular water restrictions imposed by Rand Water and daily water interruptions from Magalies Water, further impacting the quality of life for residents.
While the municipality repeatedly requests residents to use water sparingly, thousands of liters of water are wasted daily due to burst pipes, vandalised water meters, and unrepaired infrastructure, with some issues left unresolved for more than four years. The non-availability of basic materials such as clamps, stop valves, and water meters means that many leaks cannot be fixed promptly, resulting in water gushing out for days. Residents are left without water for unacceptable periods of time, often waiting for a TLB to conduct essential repairs.
Moreover, many fire hydrants are opened to release pressure due to faulty zonal valves, spilling millions of litres of water in the process. Trenches left open for months due to incomplete repairs pose safety hazards, and newly installed pipelines, funded in 2013/2014, remain unused after a decade.
Despite numerous attempts to raise these urgent issues with the Executive Mayor and the Municipal Manager, both have failed to respond, with no actions taken to address this ongoing crisis. The lack of accountability and transparency in the municipality is deeply concerning.
This situation is not only a clear violation of residents’ constitutional right to water but also represents a gross mismanagement of public resources. Immediate intervention is required to address the water supply failures, repair critical infrastructure, and hold municipal leadership accountable.
The residents of Rustenburg deserve reliable access to water and an efficient local government that can fulfil its service delivery mandates. We call on all relevant authorities to take immediate action to resolve this crisis and restore the dignity of the community.