The DA calls for urgent intervention from the Capricorn District Municipality, to address persistent water supply failures. This urgent appeal comes in response to ongoing infrastructure breakdowns, particularly within the Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality, where residents continue to suffer the consequences of prolonged water outages.
Apart from the Polokwane Local Municipality, the Capricorn District Municipality is responsible for the provision of water within all the local municipalities within its area of jurisdiction – as both the Water Services Authority and Provider.
Zones B and F of the Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality have been without a reliable source of water since December 2024, following damage caused by a contractor to a pipeline supplying the area.
At the Council meeting, we called upon the District Municipality to:
- Acknowledge its responsibility, in terms of the Bill of Rights, the Objects of Local Government, and other relevant legislation, to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of water;
- Urgently attend to the damaged pipeline affecting Zones B and F of the Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality;
- Develop and implement a plan to refurbish and replace ageing infrastructure to reduce recurrent failures;
- Be more responsive to infrastructure failures and interruptions in water supply;
- Improve transparency and communication with the public regarding the status of repair work; and
- Prioritise the roll-out of prepaid smart meters to enhance revenue collection, reduce wastage, and improve the financial sustainability of water supply services.
Where the DA governs, we prioritise the sustainable and reliable delivery of services, including water. We are committed to bringing the same standard to Capricorn.