This, as the DA in the province vows to report the Rustenburg Local Municipality to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for failure to provide residents with water. The party says residents in Rustenburg and neighbouring towns are subject to inhuman conditions with many lacking access to water supply. This, coupled with those in Inkandla who are also subjected to sewage spillages. The DA’s Luan Snyders says they view this as a violation of residents’ human rights. He says communities in this municipality and many others have for months been without water, with many forced to buy water or collect it in buckets from neighbouring towns.

Concerns over a lack of water supply by the municipality comes amidst growing concerns over the state of local government in the province. During a webinar held by the North West Treasury on Tuesday, it was confirmed that municipalities in the province are in dire straits with the acting Head of the Auditor-General, Mthokozisi Sibisi, highlighting how money has been wasted on the use of consultants.

Sibisi said all 22 municipalities in the province are making use of consultants and have spent a total of R277,7 million in the 2019/20 financial year alone. He highlighted that this is money that could have been used towards service delivery.

Following Sibisi’s damning report, Premier Job Mokgoro acknowledged that municipalities in the North West urgently needs to get their houses in order, with more than 50% of them already under administration.

He said the AG report is a clear indication of how municipalities have in the past four financial years failed to improve, despite 100% of them pumping millions into consultations.

The Chapter 9 institution highlighted that the majority of municipalities in the North West are characterised by a lack of financial controls and a lack of accountability, leading to poor governance and the collapse of services.

Merely three days after the AG report, the DA in the province in a statement confirms it plans to head to another Chapter 9 institution over the water debacle experienced in the Rustenburg Local Municipality.

OFM News