The NEWS office is still being flooded with enquiries about when the water supply will be restored, but the municipality remains mum.
The Mogale City Executive Mayor Calvin Koketso Seerane allegedly refuses to speak to councillors and provide them with answers after a water shortage has hit the areas of Kenmare, Noordheuwel, Chancliff and Rant-en-Dal for the third time this year.
Dennis Pretorius, Democratic Alliance Caucus Leader says that the executive mayor was not able to spend time with councillors to discuss the problem.
“It is disappointing that he can not make time to discuss the ongoing water disruptions. We have even tried to approach the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Infrastructure Services and Environment about the disruptions.”
Lynn Pannall, Ward Councillor for the Democratic Alliance (DA), reckons that the Mogale City Council has failed to inform ward councillors that the water supply would be disrupted in several of its suburbs as a result of the Kenmare reservoir being resealed.
“The categorical undertaking it gave that it would inform councillors of planned maintenance disruptions via its Communications Department has not honoured,” says Pannall.
“The DA believes that this is beyond being scandalous because planned maintenance is a scheduled activity in Council. If forewarned, ward councillors can communicate information to residents via text messages, their ward committees and on the network of the Community Policing Forum.”
She says that the residents, especially the aged and children, can then be catered for and the community will be able to prepare themselves for the disruptions.
“In the past three years a series of similar communication failures by Mogale City Local Council, during both scheduled and unscheduled water disruptions, has forced the DA to demand a more efficient communication process.” Undertakings were made by the Department of Infrastructure and of Communication to improve their channels of communication but the municipality again has ignored councillors and residents by reneging on its promise.
“Water is a constitutional right but because of Council’s inefficiency, people have been unable to benefit from it during the current water crisis.
“The Council’s public participation process, which it claims is effective, is laughable!” comments Pannall.
“Residents have become accustomed to non-existent public participation during IDP Road Shows. This is just more of the same.”
The DA calls on the Executive Mayor and the Municipal Manager to take cognisance of the plight of the citizens of Mogale City and to ensure that action is taken so that promises made to the community are kept.
