By Irene Rügheimer | DA Councillor Dihlabeng Municipality
Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Irene Rügheimer and Sesotho Jafta Mokoena MPL. Please see the pictures here, here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will urgently engage the Dihlabeng Municipality to address the escalating water crisis in Fouriesburg and Mashaeng with swift and sustainable solutions.
This crisis has reached critical levels, disrupting lives and threatening the well-being of residents.
The water shortages result from ageing infrastructure, poor maintenance, and delays in critical projects.
The absence of a weir at the Caledon River has left the water pump unable to transfer sufficient water to the treatment plant, while frequent breakdowns of the pump due to cavitation worsen the crisis.
Although work at the Caledon River has begun, progress is slow, leaving residents to endure ongoing hardships.
Short-term measures, such as JoJo tanks, have failed due to stolen or non-functional tanks, broken borehole pumps, and recurring motor failures at the Carolina pump station.
The water that is supplied is often discoloured and unsafe for consumption, forcing residents to purchase drinking water.
In Mashaeng, an estimated 2,000 leaking toilets waste significant amounts of water daily, compounding the problem further.
Frustrated residents have launched a petition demanding immediate action. Their key demands include:
- Regular maintenance of pumps and motors to prevent failures.
- Secure placement and consistent filling of JoJo tanks.
- Upgrades to outdated infrastructure.
Repairs to leaking toilets to conserve water. The DA supports these demands and shares the community’s frustration over the municipality’s failures. Access to clean, safe, and reliable water is a basic human right.
The DA will escalate the matter to provincial and national authorities, ensuring the municipality prioritises the repair of infrastructure, accelerates delayed projects, and implements immediate and long-term solutions.
Prolonged water shortages threaten residents’ health, increase living costs, and erode trust in governance.
We will monitor progress, advocate for effective solutions, and fight to ensure the people of Fouriesburg and Mashaeng receive the water services they need and deserve.