The Congress of the South African Trade Unions' (Cosatu) spokesperson in the province, Monyatso Oa Mahlatsi, says residents of this Eastern Free State municipality had recently been subjected to the persistent electricity and water crisis. He says residents in the area have suffered immensely during the recent period. Mahlatsi says they can longer look the other way when the people continue to suffer in the area. As a result, the federation has since planned a protest march in Qwaqwa to highlight the plight of the workers and the community at large.

“We would thus be engaging in a march on 2 December 2022, starting at Freedom Square and going up to the municipal offices. Further details will be communicated in due course. We hereby call upon all the affiliates to mobilise members to support this campaign. We are cognisant of the current National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) process, to deal with the same matter,” Mahlatsi adds.

The municipality had recently failed to pay its workers but it’s now understood that it has since made the payments to its workers. However, a source in the upper echelons suggests that things look bleak for December in terms of salaries.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the municipality, Thabo Kessah, tells OFM News that issues of water and electricity are receiving the urgent attention they deserve. Kessah says these problems cannot be solved overnight.

“On Cosatu’s planned action, it’s their prerogative as a union federation to embark on such. MAP and Eskom are about to sign a Distribution Agreement Agency which is aimed at resolving these electricity problems in the main. On water challenges, Minister Senzo Mchunu has directed Bloem Water to help stabilise the water supply in the municipality. The fact of the matter is that water provision has improved tremendously after some areas that were without water for over a decade are now receiving tap water. A lot of challenges are also related to load-shedding as pump stations use electricity,” Kessah adds.

OFM News