Nocci CEO, Sharon Steyn, tells the OFM Business Hour that several establishments have in a questionnaire revealed that some of their staff members fell sick in recent weeks after consuming water directly from the taps. Steyn says this proves that the water in the provincial capital and surrounding areas falling under the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality is not okay for human consumption at this stage. The municipality has reportedly denied this allegation.

In early October 2022, the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality informed residents of a five-day water shutdown owing to repair work that was to be carried out on bulk water infrastructure. Steyn has commended the municipality for not only communicating this in time with community members but also timeously placing tankers all around the city and its surrounding areas to ensure that community members still had some access to water. The adequate notice also enabled local businesses to ready their establishments for the shutdown. A sight the NOCCI CEO says is sadly “becoming a norm”.

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Despite this many parties including the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) have called for a probe to be launched into the frequent water interruptions that are plaguing the municipality. Furthermore, the water quality has become a concern with some community members on the Kimberley Action Group calling on one another to not consume the water.

The impact of these recent water interruptions on businesses has been moderate as most establishments are procuring water storage infrastructure to keep afloat.

Also Read: Kimberley taps to be dry for days

Recently on the OFM Business Hour, Sebasti Badenhorst, the executive responsible for sales, marketing and distribution at the water storage company Jojo, revealed that about 55% of sales for water filtration systems in the market are in urban areas compared to 45% in rural areas. She emphasised that this is a clear indicator that water quality in urban areas is becoming poorer as municipalities struggle to service growing populations.

Also Read: #OFMBusinessHour: Sales for water filtration systems in urban SA rise

According to Badenhorst, they have also seen a particular uptick in demand for pumps and filters in central South Africa. This is evidenced in some of the stories that have been written by OFM News.