Siphelele Nketo
AS part of the municipality’s stakeholder engagement, Mayor Tsileng Sobuthongo of the Alfred Nzo District Municipality interacted with the executive committee of the KwaBhaca Ratepayers’ Association on Thursday, July 16.
The meeting at Umzimvubu Local Municipality Conference Centre in KwaBhaca formed part of a one-on-one engagement ahead of a broader stakeholder session with Umzimvubu Local Municipality stakeholders and planned site visits to assess service delivery challenges affecting the area.
During the meeting, Sobuthongo acknowledged several challenges facing the area, citing issues related to the water billing systems, water shortages and other service delivery concerns.
She further explained that the visit was to assess areas experiencing challenges in water provision.
The secretary of the KwaBhaca Ratepayers’ Association Mawande Mpiti outlined a number of concerns previously raised with the municipality. He mentioned the persistent water supply interruptions in KwaBhaca, the need to urgently repair water leakages (particularly in the Silver City area), inaccurate municipal billing and issues relating to fire and rescue services as well as the condition of the sewer system among challenges affecting the community.
“We need a sustainable water supply in order to run our businesses properly. There is no consistency in the water supply, and sometimes we go as long as three weeks without water. This is severely affecting businesses and residents in the town,” he said.
In response, Sobuthongo committed to implementing immediate, short-term interventions to improve water supply while municipal management undertakes a comprehensive assessment of all issues raised. She further assured the association that practical and sustainable solutions will be developed to resolve service delivery challenges.
One of the resolutions adopted during the meeting was the formation of a rapid response team to coordinate interventions aimed at addressing service delivery challenges.
The team will be chaired by Councillor Sobane Mnukwa.
