Central SA
Brandfort without water for a week─── ZENANDE MPAME 13:27 Tue, 05 Aug 2025
Residents of Brandfort continue to suffer from no water for a week after repairs and maintenance on the bulk raw water pipeline were affected by the municipality.
Masilonyana Municipality notified residents that the estimated completion of the work would be on Wednesday (6/8), and it would continue pumping and supplying underground water to the community.
Community members have complained that the supply of underground water was finished without supplying water to everyone in the small town. “The water from the boreholes does not have enough water to fill the dam and supply the whole town with water,” said Brandfort resident Jaco Kriel.
“There are no water tankers or any formal indication from the Municipality as to where water is available. The municipality informed us of the broken pipe on Monday last week, and our taps were dry already,” said Kriel.
“Residents of Brandfort did not have access to water in the past week, and this is because of an ongoing and constant issue due to municipal mismanagement and lack of maintenance,” said Masilonyana Brandfort Forum deputy chairperson Louis van Schalkwyk.
No water tankers are roaming around because the municipality believes that their backup is sufficient, which is not the case. Residents still do not have proper access to water, he said.
Meanwhile, a family in Brandfort needs help after they lost everything in a fire on Sunday (3/8) that started on the roof of their home. It was caused by a power surge from a pole that ignited a spark.
The municipality did not dispatch any fire truck. Only local farmers and residents came out in numbers with their stored water to assist the family in trying to stop the fire.
“Nobody was hurt or injured from the fire; it’s just that everyone is still shocked,” said the Brandfort homeowner’s son, Chris Scriven. We are requesting donations in the form of clothes, beds, blankets, two-plate stoves, really anything, any assistance.
“My mom and aunt are now living with my grandmother here in Brandfort, and they will be moving to a house in September because of the people of Brandfort. We are so grateful,” he said.
A local electrician assisted us with an assessment, and he determined that the cause of the fire was due to an earth leakage on the main supply from the municipality. This happens when an electrical current leaks to the earth (ground) instead of flowing through the intended circuit.
