Residents of ward 14, Putswastene in Welkom, took to the streets on Friday to express their frustrations.

According to a social media posting, residents of Putswastene have been struggling to get water supply for the past four weeks.

Matjhabeng municipal spokesperson, Tshediso Tlali, tells OFM News the water challenges in ward 14 are the result of a burst pipe, and that the municipality has deployed employees to fix it.

He, however, adds that the area is saturated with water and needs to be drained before they can start fixing the problem.

Tlali adds the rainy weather is also exacerbating the problem, hence the delay.

“I can assure the community that our employees from the Infrastructure Department are on site now as we speak, and even throughout this week they have been there on site, trying to ensure that water is restored to the community of Putswastene. I can assure them that very soon, water will be restored because they are trying to devise other means to ensure that they fix the pipe burst. We wish to apologise to the community and commit that as I said that water will be restored soon,” adds Tlali.

ALSO READ: Matjhabeng residents plagued by water disruptions

Action SA Chairperson in the Free State, Patricia Kopane recently raised concerns over water cuts and sewage spillage in Matjhabeng. Kopane had said that residents of Matjhabeng are frustrated and have lost hope as they continue to be plagued by service delivery challenges.

ALSO READ: Free State municipality to account for sewerage challenges

Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament and delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for the Free State, George Michalakis, recently tabled a motion in Parliament, requesting that the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), along with the Matjhabeng Municipality appear before the committee and present a clear plan and timeline for the upgrade of the infrastructure.

This, after stating that 60% of water meant for household usage is lost every day due to failing infrastructure.

OFM News