Dr Kgosi Mocwagae from the UFS’ Urban and Regional Planning Department probed the ongoing water crisis in his home area of Qwaqwa, which includes Phuthaditjhaba and its 90 surrounding villages for his years-long research.

He tells OFM News the municipality has indicated that it needs 30-40 water tankers per month to alleviate the absence of water in the area. A former municipal employee told Mocwagae that the municipality spent a minimum of R100 000 per month to have these tankers transport water to affected areas since the crisis began in 2016. He reiterates that this is an estimated amount, based off of his research because he did not have access to the municipality’s financials.

“R100 000 for 30 trucks, that’s R3 million per month that has to be paid by the municipality. And then you take that R3 million and you multiply it by 12 months and that is about R36 million. You look at how long the water crisis has been going on in Qwaqwa, so that is in the order of R100 million for a short term intervention. There is no new infrastructure that has been developed, no new dams and so forth,” says the academic. The transportation of water tankers is outsourced to private companies, meaning there are companies that benefit financially from the continuation of this crisis.

Meanwhile, the Water and Sanitation Department has, in a statement recently, announced that it is at different stages of different projects meant to improve water supply in Qwaqwa. The department, led by Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, has allocated R10 million to Maluti-A-Phofung for water tankers, this whilst the department is looking into ways the Sterkfontein Water Treatment Works and the dam can be upgraded. A contractor has been appointed to carry out the latter project.

A 2019 report by the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) blames ageing water infrastructure for the current problem, which points to the alleged misappropriation of funds and rampant corruption. Mocwagae’s research, however, reveals that pinpointing the exact cause of the problem is far more complex, and finds the problem dates as far back as the 1970s.

OFM News