Municipalities lack capacity to provide quality water: SALGA
The President of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) Bheki Stofile has emphasised the need for collaborative efforts among all spheres of government to guarantee access to clean, potable water in the country. He was speaking during the SALGA national joint sitting of mayors and speakers, currently under way in Polokwane, Limpopo.
According to a recent Blue Drop report by the Water and Sanitation Department, most municipalities are supplying poor quality water with the exception of 27 out of 257.
Stofile says many municipalities, particularly those in rural areas, lack the necessary capacity and financial resources to adequately provide this essential service.
“One arm is not stronger enough to lift the difficult and hard things and the second hand can help you to lift, that is the theory of intergovernmental relations so that you can use inter-governmental financial resources because other municipalities are in rural areas. They don’t have the money that we are counting as billions in other municipalities. A smaller municipality in this area, their money, they’re appreciative of their income as R100 million. What are you going to do with R100 million? And their fiscal intergovernmental relations. That is where we need to partner to address these challenges.”
Meanwhile, Sekhukhune District Municipal Mayor Minah Bahula says they have started drilling boreholes to mitigate the situation by providing clean drinkable water.
“Upon assuming leadership of the municipality, I discovered, as the water authority, we have been facing significant challenges in providing adequate water supply to the communities. In response, the mayoral committee and I made the decision to drill boreholes as a temporary, emergency solution, to ensure that residents have access to water while we work on more permanent solutions. Concurrently, we are addressing both unfinished and new water projects to guarantee a sustainable and reliable water supply for the future.
Source: eNCA
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