Hoedspruit still struggle with water, with no permanent solutions
For the past year, residents of Hoedspruit has been struggling with water and no permanent solutions have been made to provide the town with water.
The DA in Hoedspruit has launched a petition to demand that the Maruleng Local Municipality (MLM) and Mopani District Municipality (MDM) urgently address water shortages and poor maintenance of water infrastructure in the town. “The current water infrastructure is more than 20 years old, and this has resulted in pipes bursting constantly and prolonged water disruptions.
While MLM has previously indicated that MDM is responsible for water infrastructure, it is clear that both municipalities are skirting responsibility for the poor state of water provision and water infrastructure,” said Marie Helm, DA Limpopo deputy leader. She said that the water shortages in Hoedspruit are further exacerbated by the rapid development and growth of the town and various dysfunctional and unfinished water projects by MDM, dating as far back as 2015.
Also read: Sewage makes life miserable for Hoedspruit residents
“The poor planning by MLM and MDM about water provision means that watershedding is a recurring issue in the town when it is available. “The constant loadshedding also worsens the water shortages as both the Essex and Parma pumps are on the same electricity distribution line and no water can be pumped. “The reservoir in use in Hoedspruit, currently was built for the Hoedspruit Air Force Base but years ago, an agreement was reached to provide water to a much smaller Hoedspruit town.
The town has continued to grow and the MLM and MDM have failed to keep up with the water infrastructure development to meet the town’s needs,” she added. The reservoir is now no longer sufficient for the town’s water needs. “Through the signing of the petition residents can be assured their voices will be heard as we will escalate the petition to all spheres of government until all the residents of Hoedspruit have a reliable supply of water in their homes and businesses,” she concluded. Herald contacted MDM’s spokesperson Odas Ngobeni who said that as of now they were not aware of Hoedspruit’s water problem.
