The restoration of services on Sunday (22/6) follows weeks of pressure, legal intervention, and public outcry, particularly in Winburg.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) intervened after receiving complaints. On Friday (13/6), the SAHRC obtained a court order compelling the municipality to take action to ensure access to drinking water. The court had given the municipality until Wednesday to comply.

Masilonyana spokesperson Zongezile Ntjwabule confirmed to OFM News that the issue stemmed from a major infrastructure failure. “The clear water pipeline from the water treatment works to the reservoirs burst and adversely impacted water supply to the town.

The municipality could repair the pipeline on Saturday, and clear water started pumping into the reservoir late that afternoon, said Ntjwabule. By Sunday morning, reservoir levels had reached 50%, and water supply had been restored to households.

During the outage, Masilonyana deployed water tankers, though residents reported the service was inconsistent and insufficient despite the municipality claiming to work tirelessly to ensure that water was restored since it went off on Tuesday (10/6).

Humanitarian crisis

DA Cllr Brun Rossouw, who stepped in to assist residents using her own resources, described the situation as a humanitarian crisis. “The municipality has failed to respond.

“I used my private borehole to supply water daily from early morning until late at night, even providing for schools, prisons, and old age homes.”

Rossouw highlighted broader infrastructure issues plaguing Masilonyana, particularly sewage management. For the past two years, raw sewage has been spilling into the Rietfontein Dam due to a dysfunctional treatment plant. Although a contractor was appointed to resolve the problem, the project has since stalled.

Ntjwabule acknowledged the sewerage problem, attributing it to outdated infrastructure that can’t meet the town’s growing needs.

Winburg’s sewer spillage is due to hydraulic capacity. Routine maintenance is being carried out, said Ntjwabule. The municipality is working tirelessly to complete the upgrading of outfall sewers and relocation of the pump station to cater for local township growth.

Efforts to upgrade the town’s infrastructure include improvements to the electricity network. The municipality is upgrading the electricity network through the electrification of the 210 houses.

Modern aerial bundle conductors

A milestone is to upgrade the electricity switchgear, which will deal with low voltages in areas that were previously experiencing voltage drops.

Additionally, old mini-substations and bare overhead conductors will be replaced with modern aerial bundle conductors in the next financial year to address electrical faults and safety concerns, said Ntjwabule.

Amid the infrastructure turmoil, the municipality was recently embroiled in legal drama involving the seizure of essential service delivery assets. Municipal waste trucks and other assets were attached on Thursday (19/6) following a court judgment in favour of Maximum Notion Security Services, a company previously contracted to protect the former Municipal Manager, Pule Tsekedi.

Attachment reversed

“The assets were removed on Thursday … This was according to a judgment … our then attorneys withdrew their services due to a dispute with the municipality,” Ntjwabule explained.

When the municipality’s new legal representatives applied for a rescission of judgment, the opposing party moved quickly to enforce the earlier ruling. The court later ruled in Masilonyana’s favour, ordering the return of the seized assets on Friday.

“The municipality immediately approached the court to reverse the attachment, which was granted in their favour,” Ntjwabule said.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cg