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Failure on the part of government to address long term water supply and infrastructure related challenges across the province could spell disaster for the Northern Cape, despite good overall rainfall being experienced.

The latest water crisis is being experienced in Hondeklip Bay in Kamiesberg municipality. The crux of the problem is believed to lie with poor water infrastructure maintenance and inadequate water supply from the local reservoir. The effects of this crisis are far reaching and are impacting on the whole of the community. This includes negatively affecting local clinics in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic, and guesthouses, which form the economic backbone of the town.

The situation, which has become a yearly occurrence, has this time endured since October last year and it is aggravating the fight against Covid-19 as well as the fight for economic survival.

The DA applauds the response to the water crisis by business and civil society, following calls for help made by DA constituency head, Veronica Van Dyk, MP. Residents of Kleinzee donated water (see picture here) and Coca-Cola dispatched water from Vredendal for the use of private households as well. Boere Droogtehulp SA NPC is also on its way with 34 tons of water, sponsored by Twizza.

We do, however, remain concerned by the response from the Kamiesberg Local Municipality to this humanitarian crisis. Aside from doing little to nothing to fix the root causes of this crisis, the municipality also has substandard plans to mitigate the impact of the crisis, with no trucks available over the weekend available to deliver water to residents in need.

While Van Dyk has drawn up a petition to give residents and tourists the opportunity to comment on how the ongoing water crisis affects them, I will further be visiting Hondeklip Bay early next week, to conduct water-related oversight inspections. I have also referred the matter to COGHSTA MEC, Bentley Vass and Premier Zamani Saul, for their urgent attention.

This is alongside a number of other water-related crises that the DA has reported to them for intervention since late last year, including water issues in Marchand in Kai !Garib, Hanover in Emthanjeni municipality, Victoria West in Ubuntu, Keimoes and Kakamas in Kai !Garib, and Van Wyksvlei in Kareeberg municipality.

The DA welcomes the water tank interventions in Noupoort, following my respective personal interactions with Noupoort Mayor, Mzwandile Toto. However, government will have to give much more urgent attention to the maintenance, management and protection of the province’s broader water infrastructure and our scarce life-giving water sources, for our future wellbeing and sustainability.

Issued by The DA