The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo calls on the MEC for COGHSTA, Basikopo Makamu, to submit corrective action plans coupled with binding timelines to address the collapse of water infrastructure in the Province to the Portfolio Committee for scrutiny.
Limpopo has 10 Water Service Authorities (WSA’s) which vest in 4 of the 5 District municipalities and the five local municipalities which comprise the Waterberg District; Modimolle-Mookgophong, Bela Bela, Lephalale, Thabazimbi and Mokgalakwena.
The DA is extremely concerned that of the 4059 posts required at our WSA’s, 1711 are vacant.
This is a 42% vacancy rate and includes Modimolle-Mookgophong (84%), Polokwane Municipality (68%),Capricorn District (60%),Lephalale(59%), Bela Bela (58%) and Mopani District( 39%).
There are further no Technical Services Directors appointed for Modimolle-Mookgopohong and Thabazimbi municipalities.
This human resources skills and capacity crisis in the WSA’s are compounded by the fact that 6 of the 10 municipalities in which the WSA’s are vested, are in financial distress- Mopani, Vhembe and Sekhukhune Districts, as well as Thabazimbi, Modimolle-Mookgophong and Mokgalakwena Local Municipalities.
Sekhukhune is the only district municipality with a funded budget; the unfunded four districts cannot indicate how they will fund their expenses and have ineffective billing systems.
In 2023 the South African Human Rights Commission found that all 10 WSA’s and the Waterberg district in a contributory capacity, do not comply with the Water Services Act and Compulsory Standards and that the Department of COGHSTA, the Office of the Premier and the National Department of Water and Sanitation failed in their oversight responsibilities- Recommendations and timelines were ignored.
Access to water continues to decline; 20.5% of Limpopo households have no access to piped water, against a national average of 8.7%.
Remnants of incomplete bulk infrastructure projects are strewn across the province with 24 new, but incomplete projects implemented since the 2023.
It is clear that the ANC government in Limpopo does not have the capacity, nor the will to save our communities from the indignant suffering of a life without water- it is only at the ballot box in 2026 that communities will have to opportunity to bring about change to improve their lives.