Polokwane water woes| Municipal deficit, LNW faulty pump stations the axis of a crisis in the city
POLOKWANE in Limpopo is again facing water shortages due to municipal deficit in the reservoirs and intermittent faults at pump stations run by Lepelle Northern Water (LNW).
The city requires 99 mega litres of water per day to satisfy residents in all the 45 wards. It has a service level agreement with LNW to supply 59 mega litres of water per day for R26 million a month.
The city then has .to find its own sources of water to close the deficit of 40 mega litres per day.
LNW supplies the city through two pipelines from the Ebenezer and Olifantspoort water schemes. However, the intermittent faults at LNW’s pump stations and the municipal deficit have been the axis of the water crisis in the city for the past several years.
In 2019, R265 million was allocated to augment water supply through the construction of Seshego Water Treatment Plant and the Seshego-Bloodriver Wellfields. The project came to a halt due to depletion of funds.
According to executive mayor, John Mpe, the project is now expected to be completed at the end of April.
Mpe told the media that the municipality has prioritized the drilling of boreholes which some have been completed in Luthuli Park and, Extensions 75 and 76 in the sprawling Seshego township.
“What we’re doing as Polokwane, we’ve taken a decision that in order to deal with a deficit that we’re facing, we’re going to prioritize the drilling of boreholes to augment the water supply,” Mpe said.
He spoke of cable theft and vandalism in general to infrastructure as a matter of grave concern that should be declared as acts of treason.
“People have grouped themselves to vandalise infrastructure. Even households are living in fear,” he said.
The water crisis came to a head and took a political turn last week when some residents of Seshego embarked on a protest, blockading roads.
The protest coincided with the municipal integrated development plan (IDP) and budget public consultation meeting at the Ngwako Ramathlodi Sports Complex in the township.
At the meeting, Mpe remarked that some people were being paid to destabilise the municipality. However, the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) which supported the protest dismissed the assertion as unfortunate.
EFF caucus leader in the municipality, Jacob Lebogo, has since demanded evidence to the remarks.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader in the municipality, Jacques Joubert: “Polokwane municipality should have adequate supply stored up in its Krugersburg reservoir in the event of shutdowns, but the 50ML Krugersburg reservoir, one of the main storage reservoir, has been dry for more than a decade under ANC rule.”
