The Democratic Alliance will be tabling a motion in the uMgungundlovu District council, calling on the municipality to address the water crisis in Richmond ward 7.
The DA will also ask the municipality to provide water tankers in the affected areas in ward 7 within 14 days. Should the municipality fail to do so the DA will escalate the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission.
After growing calls of water shortages in Richmond, ward 7, the DAconducted an oversight to understand the cries of residents. Shockingly, the community members are without water for months now, and there is zero desire from the district to address the issue.
This oversight comes after the complaints by the residents, dating this water problem as far back as November. Within the ward, residents in a section called Nigeria have to at least allocate an hour to fetch water, in an unsafe well. There are no municipal tanks in this area. However, there is a water tank in eBhaleni, but is not refilled regularly, at times an entire month passes without a refill.
It is particularly disappointing that not only water is a crisis, but community taps are also broken, and some tainted with rust. Despite millions of rands allocated by council in each financial year to ensure clean and accessible water, this is not the case in ward 7 and the situation is clearly that of a zero value for money.
The Water Services Act explicitly states that every individual has the right to access basic water supply and sanitation services, and municipalities are obligated to plan for the realization of these rights in their water services development plans. In light of these failures, the DA will formally communicate with the district, urging immediate assistance for the affected residents and a sustainable, long-term solution to the water supply issues in the area. Amongst other things, the DA will ask the uMgungundlovu district to provide temporary relief measures in the form of water tankers and that the crumbling water infrastructure be fixed to ensure that the community of ward 7 in Richmond has stable supply of clean water in the long term.
In 30 years of democracy, the ANC-led government has not only failed to prioritize basic service delivery, but also failed the well-being and dignity of all South Africans. The DA is committed to rescue South Africa and ensure quality service delivery.