Note to Editors: Please find attached English, Afrikaans and Sesotho soundbites by Cllr Nicky van Wyk.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mantsopa will urgently raise the Ladybrand water crisis in council to ensure proper maintenance of water infrastructure and accountability for the incomplete work at the Genoa Water Treatment Plant.
This step is vital because residents of the greater Ladybrand area are still not receiving a consistent water supply, with some neighbourhoods left without water for more than four days.
Mantsopa has failed our community. At present, there are areas without water for more than 4 days. A significant contributor to this situation is burst pipes that are not repaired, resulting in continuous water leaks that amount to thousands of litres of drinking water running down the roads of Ladybrand.
In the past six months, the municipality has appointed a contractor at the Genoa Water Treatment plant to perform renovations and bring the plant up to date. Yet, six months later, no improvement or fundamental change to the water situation in Ladybrand has materialised.
The infrastructure in Ladybrand is in such a state of disrepair that, at the moment, the municipality is resorting to flash maintenance and not really addressing the larger problem, which is the mismanagement of resources and a total lack of accountability.
We, the DA, will be addressing these atrocities in council, demanding answers and consequences for this total disregard for human rights.