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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) is calling on the Metro to urgently give clarity regarding the water crisis created by outages and the substandard quality of water in the Municipality.

Residents in certain areas of the BCMM regularly have to deal with taps running dry.

In some areas where water is available, it is not fit for human consumption.

Residents deserve to be kept up to date regarding this crisis and the Municipal Manager must, therefore, share the Municipality’s infrastructure assessment report with the public. Residents must also have access to the BCMM’s water conservancy and demand strategy – aimed at mitigating unexpected water shortages.

Delays in responding to residents and the inability to provide continuous updated reports have created panic and frustration.

This is further exacerbated when no timelines are given for the provision and placement of water tankers. Many residents are not able to purchase water and are reliant on a stable water supply. Clarity also needs to be given on why areas like CC Lloyd township and Vergenoeg constantly experience water outages.

The DA calls on the BCMM to provide twice daily updates on the water situation. This must include which areas are affected by outages and where water tankers will be made available.

It is local government’s responsibility to provide clean water to residents at all times and the DA will do everything in its power to ensure that this is done.

Issued by Buffalo City Coastal Constituency Leader, Chantel King, MP