Georg Frederik de Necker, concerned citizen and veteran of Welkom:
I am writing to address the Matjhabeng mayoral council’s blatant disregard for the High Court ruling that mandates the continuous provision of water to the community. The persistent water cuts, especially during critical times, are unacceptable and demand immediate explanation to the residents of Matjhabeng.
Firstly, it is imperative to understand why the executive mayor and municipal manager have not complied with the court’s directive. The residents and the entire community of Matjhabeng and Llejwelephutswa district deserves an explanation for this failure and a definite failproof layout and a solid plan for the foreseeable future of this district and its diverse communities whether white, black, pink, or blue.
Apartheid and racism is now in the distant past. So clearly jumping back to that will not suffice any more. It is now the naked truth or nothing. The residents have just about had enough of this orchestrated countrywide movement that is going on in the water realm from municipality to municipality, right through.
Funny that right now throughout South Africa this same problem rears its ugly head in every corner of this beautiful land. Is this some form of punishment to bring all and sundry in line with what, and for what?
Secondly, the rationale behind the council’s practice of cutting off the water supply – particularly during times of high need and specifically before people are going to and returning from work and going to school – and then providing tankers at certain so-called vantage points during the daytime when there is no one that can collect water as they are at school and at their place of employment, must be clarified understandably once and for all.
This erratic supply, the switching on and off of water and sometimes (for days on end) closed off without a word from the so-called powers that be severely impacts the daily lives of residents and cannot rationally be justified at all. To have clean potable water all the time is a basic human right.
The residents and citizens have just come to the end of their tether with the way in which the jobs of repair to the water system, the sewage system and the electrical systems are being handled by the council – seemingly as if there is no plan and no knowledge of what to do.
It seems that everything is just being done haphazardly, which in the end is just imposing more costs where revenue is an inadequacy.
In times past ample provision used to exist but these days it seems that the council is operating without the necessary skills to foresee and provide for the future. It just seems that there is always a lack of finance to do anything constructive, but enough to have parties at every drop of a hat and at such exorbitant costs where there is no money for the much-needed life sustaining water and desperate repairs for the ever-growing leakages of absolute clean, drinkable, crystal clear, life-sustaining water running down the streets of Matjhabeng into the drains.
Lastly, the alarming issue of unpaid bills to the water supplier, amounting to billions of rands.
- The continued mismanagement and failure to address these issues are holding the residents of Matjhabeng at ransom. We do not want to think that this could intentionally be so.Letter shortened – Editor
