The Department’s provincial head, Tseliso Ntili, tells OFM News that their officials are continuing to play an advisory role and actively assisting the embattled municipality in the eastern Free State with drafting assessments of the situation and developing short to long-term goals to deal with the issue. Ntili was responding to earlier media reports that stated the Water and Sanitation Department had declined to respond to questions on the water crisis and instead referred questions to Maluti-A-Phofung – which is currently under administration. Ntili explains that each sphere of government has powers and functions, and it is “therefore not the responsibility of one sphere to push another around”. The provincial head says the municipality is responsible for delivering basic services, not the department.

“The management of water, which is the portable water, is really clearly the responsibility of the municipality. This is in terms of the operations and maintenance of the infrastructure”. Ntilli says the key issue in Qwaqwa is centred around maintenance of the aging infrastructure.

The provincial head does acknowledge that nature has had a hand in the current crisis and it is here that the department can intervene by monitoring the raw water at the various dams.

According to Ntili, the Sterkfontein and Makwane Dams are above the 60% level. It is the Fika Patso Dam that is below 40% and is therefore the problem. “We need to be able to provide support to make sure that water is really available to the end users. Our focus is to make sure that we increase the volumes from the Sterkfontein Dam to the Fika Patso Dam.”

Media reports indicate that parts of Qwaqwa have gone without water for four months and counting. The community is at present being assisted with Jojo tanks and the usage of wells in the area. The Maluti-A-Phofung municipality is yet to comment on the water crisis.

OFM News