PHALABORWA – Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality is under growing pressure to address recurring service-delivery failures after the Let’s Change Ba-Phalaborwa Community Forum (LCBP) recorded 17 785 incidents between April 2022 and mid-2026.

The figures were contained in LCBP’s submission to the municipality during the 2026/2027 first-quarter mayoral imbizo held at Impala Park on Thursday, August 27.

Water and sanitation top the list

According to the forum, water and sanitation accounted for the largest share, with 12 023 incidents, followed by 4 451 electricity incidents and 1 311 roads and streetlighting incidents.

LCBP said its service delivery incident register identified at least 465 repeat incidents, including:

• 267 water leaks
• 87 sewerage spills
• 82 street, flood and traffic-light faults
• 23 road faults
• 6 electrical faults

Systemic problems, not quick fixes

The forum said the figures demonstrate that service-delivery problems are systemic and cannot be addressed through temporary, complaint-driven repairs.

Water security a major concern

Water security was highlighted as a major concern, with 2 881 water-leak incidents and 5 214 “no water” incidents recorded. Water leaks took an average of 86 days to resolve, while one documented leak remained unresolved for 1 088 days.

The forum also recorded 1 487 sewerage spills, warning that sewage entering stormwater systems and watercourses could pose environmental and public-health risks.

Electricity reliability under scrutiny

Electricity reliability was another concern, with:

• 2 564 power outages
• 723 additional electrical infrastructure faults
• 1 164 loadshedding events recorded

LCBP noted that 955 power outages were explicitly linked to water-supply disruptions.

Road infrastructure concerns

Road infrastructure also came under scrutiny, with 250 road-condition incidents, 185 pothole incidents and 1 061 lighting incidents recorded.

Call for preventative maintenance

LCBP called for a shift from reactive repairs to preventative maintenance and planned infrastructure renewal, with clear budgets, responsible officials, deadlines and public reporting.

Mayor receives submission

The mayor received and signed the submission while also addressing various other service-delivery concerns raised by residents during the imbizo.

Municipality’s performance and projects

Mayor Merriam Malatji presented the municipality’s first-quarter performance report and outlined several projects, including the near-completion of Namakgale Stadium and the planned resumption of the Honeyville-to-Sebera road upgrade in September.

The proposed rehabilitation and dualling of the R21 between Mashishimale and Kruger Gate remains at the design stage, with construction anticipated in 2028.

The municipality also introduced a new refuse collection truck donated by Foskor Mine to strengthen waste-management services.