Residents of the Kopanong Local Municipality face dry taps as water contract with Bloemwater is terminated

Issued by Karabo Khakhau – DA MPL of the Official Opposition in the Free State Provincial Legislature
24 Jan 2020 in Press Statements

The residents of 6 towns in the Free State Xhariep District’s Kopanong Local Municipality face a serious threat of being waterless after Bloemwater’s water supply contract with the municipality was terminated.

These residents could be forced to suffer the same fate the unrest-ridden Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality, where the taps have already dried up. The affected towns are Edenburg, Trompsburg, Phillippolis, Reddersburg, Bethulie and Springfontein.

This comes after Bloemwater, the provider of bulk water supply in this municipality in terms of the Water Services Act of 1997, was served with a unilateral cancellation of contract letter by the municipality.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State believes that this was a reckless decision taken by the municipality, for the following reasons:

  • The municipality has a population of about 49 999 residents whom all have the constitutional right to the access of water as enshrined in Chapter 2: section 27(1)(b) of the South African Constitution.
  • The termination of a water supply contract by the municipality without an alternative supplier is a clear violation of this right and a breach of the social contract the municipality has with its residents.
  • The cancellation of this contract will in all probability result in the termination of water supply to the Jaggersfontein and Tromsburg Hospitals. This would leave patients who depend on the already failing public health system in a more fragile and deadly position. This would be a breach of the state’s responsibility to avail citizens their right to access healthcare services as enshrined in Chapter 2: section 27(1)(a) of the South African Constitution.
  • In an economy that experiences snail-paced growth, there is a total of 65 employees whose jobs depend on this contact and who now face possible retrenchment should the termination of this contract stand.
  • The termination of this contract will result in the removal of all Bloemwater’s movable assets from the two Water Treatment Works (WTW) owned by the Municipality in both Jaggersfontein and Gariep Dam, including all boreholes that the entity has been operating and maintaining on behalf of the Municipality. The municipality lacks the technical expertise to deliver services to residents and does not have the capacity to replace Bloemwater.

In response to a question by the DA, the Free State MEC of COGTA, Thembeni Nxangisa, indicated that the municipality owed Bloemwater a constantly accumulating amount of R314 512 661 (in August 2019).

This debt has already put the residents of Fauresmith, Phillippolis, Jagersfontein, Trompsburg and Springfontein under the inconvenience of water restrictions due to non-payment by the municipality.

This not only proves the municipality’s lack of capacity to manage its finances but also proves that the municipality is unable to make decisions that are in the best interest of its residents.

The DA calls for the urgent intervention by the MEC of COGTA and the Premier in resolving this matter. Being committed to fight against corruption, poor governance and the protection of rights and freedoms of all our people in the Free State, we will engage the issue further through the Legislature in order to ensure that those responsible supply the necessary answers, and are held accountable, for their decisions.