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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the interventions in Matjhabeng, Maluti-a-Phofung and Kopanong municipalities announced on 10 April by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu. These interventions in terms of the Water Services Act are long overdue, and will hopefully bring the necessary expertise and budgets to address the water supply and sewage treatment crisis, which has been left unchecked to escalate over many years.

While the long overdue interventions are welcome, the DA will scrutinise the budgets and the operations.

The MEC of COGTA, Mxolisi Dukwana, reported to the NCOP Provincial Week delegation in March that although dam levels in the province are almost all at 100%, municipalities are failing to provide clean drinking water to households, and are incapable of managing their sewage treatment mandate. Only 42 of the 69 water treatment plants in the province are fully functional, while 27 are partly operational.

The biggest crisis is with waste water treatment facilities where only 24 of the provincial total of 103 are fully operational. The Free State is awash with raw sewage, polluting the environment and pouring mega litres of raw untreated sewage into our national water resources.

The Minister previously announced the disestablishment of the Sedibeng Water Board. The assets, liabilities and staff are in the process of being transferred to Bloemwater in terms of Section 28 of the Water Services Act of 1997. Bloemwater has been appointed to manage the interventions in Matjhabeng, Maluti-a-Phofung and Kopanong municipalities, as well as its current responsibility for managing water supply in Mangaung and Mantsopa.

The DA will file questions in the Free State Legislature and the NCOP to obtain details regarding the allocated budgets, operations, technical capacity and managing structures of Bloemwater which must now take on reversing the sewage crisis in the Free State.

We are hopeful that these interventions will bring about an improvement in the water and sewage disasters which have engulfed the Free State under ANC councils for many years.

Issued by DA CoGta Spokesperson in the Free State Legislature, Leona Kleynhans