Yesterday during a council sitting, the DA voted against the lifting of the moratorium on land development in Polokwane.
In July 2017 the Polokwane council implemented a moratorium on land development, resolution CR01/07/2017, due to the lack of adequate water supply to Polokwane.
Since 2017 the water challenges escalated into an exponential crisis that is causing untold hardships to the residents of Polokwane.
Yesterday, council unconditionally rescinded the moratorium on development. The DA actively debated against the decision as the reason for the moratorium was to halt development until Polokwane’s bulk water supply has been adequately addressed.
The DA supports development in the City of Polokwane, but not at the expense of the residents currently suffering due to water supply deficit and water shedding.
For development to be sustainable there should be adequate water supply.
The City should focus on developing current water infrastructure, implement measures to reduce the 36% water losses as well as adequately monitor and replace the thousands of dysfunctional water meters.
According to the report submitted to council, Polokwane will receive an additional 38 Mega litres of water from 3 current projects into the water distribution system by end of July 2025.
The ANC led Polokwane Municipality is not known for meeting targets on water projects; the Sandriver North Project has already been extended with 5 months to April 2025.
The DA proposed to bring the matter back to Council once existing water projects are completed and functional after July 2025, but was overruled by the ruling ANC party
During the sitting, the DA moved a motion with clear recommendations to address the water crisis, which will be opposed and debated in the next council sitting.
Seemingly the ANC does not believe there is a water crisis and we will continue to be voice of reason until the ruling party musters up the political will to fix their failures.