Assistant Administrator, Solly Motingoe, says the administrator, Moses Moremi, and the acting Municipal Manager of the troubled municipality in the Free State were part of a meeting with Zwane last week, focusing primarily on the recovery plan for the municipality, drafted by the government in consultation with the local business community. According to Motingoe, some of the areas they have selected for immediate intervention include Thaba Bosiu, Qoqolosing, Jwala Boholo, Riverside and Namahadi, amongst others. He explains the municipality is in such deep financial ruin, that there was no money to buy stock or diesel for municipal cars to go to affected areas and attempt to remedy some of the issues. This, however, is not the worst of the situation.

He says each water pump station is operated by two pumps which operate over a period of 24 hours. “When there would be a problem at another pump station, the officials would remove a back-up pump and take it to a pump station that does not have pumps at all. They’ve been doing that to the extent that there is a total of 50 pumps stations that are currently operating with one pump”. Ultimately, this results in a decrease in water pressure. This week, the assistant Administrator informed OFM News that residents in parts of Qwaqwa in the Free State can expect to have water running from their taps from Wednesday, March 6, onwards. This as parts of Qwaqwa, which includes Phuthaditjhaba and 12 surrounding villages, have been without water for weeks. 

The Qwaqwa area wasn’t the only part of Maluti-A-Phofung that has been struggling with water supply of late. OFM News reported in December 2018 that the Harrismith area was without water, in the main due to the dry Wilge River but a leaking pipeline, amongst other factors, worsened the situation. Motingoe assures residents that in the last two weeks the municipality has “succeeded in stabilising Intabazwe in Harrismith and other high-lying areas in the municipality that could not get water” due to the water leaks. He maintains that these areas are currently receiving water in a sustainable way after the leaks were repaired

On October 22, the Free State High Court instructed branches of government and all relevant stakeholders to form a consultative committee meant to address Maluti-A-Phofung’s close to R3 billion debt to Eskom. Judges Corné van Zyl, Mpina Mathebula and Jacobus Loubser’s judgment gave this committee 60 days from the court date to draft a recovery plan and present it to Mkhize. The order came on the back of a court bid by the Harrismith Business Forum and thirteen other businesses to prevent Eskom from instituting planned power interruptions due to the municipality’s failure to settle its mammoth debt.

In early December 2018, the head of the provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mokete Duma, confirmed the committee had managed to complete a draft of the recovery plan, despite the Harrismith business community’s concerns over the feasibility and sustainability of the plan. Duma said the recovery plan doesn’t just cover the debt to the power utility, the focus is also placed on other service delivery needs, as is the case judging from Mkhize’s request.

OFM News