8 Days without water. That is the reality that most residents face in Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM).
Water mysteriously dried up amid cries and allegations of non-payments to Rand Water, Lies from politicians and misleading statements.
The truth is that there is no water in the taps of GMM residents.
Several attempts by political leaders to get to the bottom of the problem only led to higher frustration levels among councillors and residents alike. No clear answer could be obtained from anybody.
Fortunately, The Bulletin also has some sources willing to talk to us with the agreement of being anonymous. It is confirmed that Rand Water has resumed pumping but at a limited capacity.
A reliable source within Rand Water confirmed that they have enough water to pump to GMM but are not doing so due to poor payment by GMM. This has not yet been officially confirmed by The Bulletin.
Some sources within GMM (also anonymous) stated that GMM paid more than R12m short on their August account.
GMM was billed R37 458 604,16 (R7 468 951,40 was interest) and paid R24 998 177,09.
This brought the total owing Rand Water to a staggering R815 750 729,20 from R795 821 350,73. A difference of R19,929,378.47.
On Friday 4 October GMM decided to water the stadium. A lot of water was used as most of the pipes were leaking. The stadium looked like a dam at one stage.
Sources within the mining fraternity also confirmed a strong water supply in certain areas. This has not yet been officially confirmed by The Bulletin.
Some residents with boreholes have made water available to other residents. In Bethal the farmers made sure that the churches had water and were continually supplying water to some residents. Thank you to those who are helping in this regard.
GMM water trucks now have no more water to load. All the dams within the GMM area are polluted with sewer to the extent that it is most probably undrinkable. Farmers next to rivers and streams flowing from GMM have reported livestock deaths after drinking water from the rivers and streams.
The cleanest water in the area is reportedly the Trichardtsfontein dam next to Trichardt but this is allegedly reserved for Sasol in case of emergencies.
The DA in GMM made a call to the residents to attend the IDP meeting on Tuesday. Even if water issues will most probably not be on the agenda, it is a place where your voices can be heard and concerns noted.
It is confirmed that water has now reached Kinross reservoirs and that some parts do have water in that area.
The South African Human Rights Commission explains the right to water on their website in a document that can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/3Yaw9cC
Let us hope the water issue gets resolved soon.
For all our sakes.
