According to DA Member of Parliament in the province, Leona Kleynhans, the request comes after residents of the municipality, which includes Harrismith, QwaQwa and Kestell, have been experiencing, among others, a water crisis for quite some time.

Kleynhans says 400 000 residents have suffered years of abuse by the ANC-led municipal leadership. She adds that Dlamini-Zuma should institute drastic actions to rectify bulk services and restore hope of investment and job creation. “We believe that declaring a disaster would be a positive development for Maluti-A-Phofung” explains Kleynhans.

Kleynhans claims that the declaration will enable additional funding to be released by the national government, which will assist to secure engineering expertise and establishment of joint operations to monitor and mitigate the municipality.

Meanwhile, residents of Maluti-A-Phofung have taken to social media to express their anger and concern as they claim that the municipality have been ignoring their need for clean water and electricity.

OFM News recently reported that the mayor of the municipality, Masetjhaba Mosia-Lakaje, has asked the Gift of the Givers to drill boreholes in the areas in order to help with the water situation.

OFM News/Marvin Ntsane