Sedibeng Water has sent out a notice to North West municipalities that water will be suspended from 1 June 2021, as a result of non-payment.

Sakelige Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Piet le Roux says they have given Sedibeng Water until 10 am on Thursday morning to withdraw the notice.

"The state must stop shifting the burden of its internal problems to business people and the local community. Sedibeng Water is an organ of state and does not have the right to suspend services to businesses and the public at large owing to its failure to obtain proper payment from another organ of state,” says Le Roux.

"As has already been confirmed in a recent judgment that Sakeliga obtained, an organ of state such as Sedibeng Water may not interrupt its services to paying businesses and the community at large until it has at least complied with the legal prescriptions on intergovernmental disputes. In addition, in this case, Sedibeng Water did not even properly inform or consult local businesses and communities.”

The looming water suspension will affect areas such as the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, as well as the Mahikeng, Ditsobotla, and Ratlou Local Municipalities.

Jacaranda News