Extended water outages due to load shedding and the collapse of water infrastructure have now not only left residents of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality high and dry, but are also allegedly having serious health implications for locals.
This is according to Kobus Botha, EC Midlands Constituency Leader, who said residents in Cradock and Bergsig have been without water for seven days.
He said on February 17 learners of the Middelland Secondary School in Middelburg were joined by teachers and other staff members in marching to demand that the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) provides them with safe, potable water.
The CHDM is responsible for the provision of water to the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality.
“The march followed after the school, including the hostel, experienced five days without running water. This led to an extremely unhygienic situation at the school,” said Botha.
“Learners also fell ill and suffered from stomach ailments after drinking the carted water provided by the CHDM.”
Botha said he has written a letter to the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Zolile Williams, requesting his intervention in the water crisis.
He said they were also requesting additional water tanker trucks to be stationed permanently in Cradock and Middelburg to ensure a rapid supply of clean water to residents when all systems fail.
“Load shedding is wreaking havoc with water reticulation as electrical pump systems are offline for several hours on a daily basis,” said Botha.
“Reservoirs, especially in high-lying areas, regularly run dry due to extended load shedding and lack of diesel.”
Botha said the municipality lacks the funds to timeously buy and pay for diesel for the emergency generator at the Geelbooi storage dams in Cradock.
He said the generator powers the pumps that pump water to the water purification plant and reservoir in Bergsig which provides water to 50 000 residents in the Cradock area.
