Dam operator forced to open floodgates for seven hours by protestors

STEELPOORT – Angry and impatient strikers of Masewen Village forced the De Hoop Dam operator to open two floodgates for several hours causing the Tubatse River and access bridge to flood on November 23.

“De Hoop Dam is currently supplying Masha and Ngwaabe with water, while Masewen is located four kilometres from the dam. Residents of this small community felt that they were supposed to receive water first before any other areas, causing the violent strike last Monday,” said Mr Willie Mosoma, spokesman of Sekhukhune District Municipality.

Before the two floodgates were open the water capacity of the dam was 96.8 per cent, and after the floodgates were open for several hours, the capacity decreased to 94.8 per cent, a loss of only two per cent.

He also added that the protesters were accompanied by the Roossenekal police to the floodgates where they forced the dam operator to open it.

“No injuries or fatalities were reported. We have heard from sources that equipment from contractors close to the floodgates had been damaged, but we cannot confirm this as investigations need to be done by professional assessors to determine the damage first.

If there was indeed damage, the national government will do the correct assessments and follow legal procedures to cover their costs.”

“Before this incident we had continuous meetings with the Masewen residents regarding the water crisis.

We implemented a temporarily and a long-term strategy for them, and they were aware of it. As for the temporarily strategy, they are currently using a borehole.

In June 2015 the water from the hole got contaminated and was no longer potable, by September we had a package plan enforced together with Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and Basil Read to use chemicals to purify the water in the borehole, but by then the residents insisted to receive water from De Hoop Dam. We then implemented the long-term plan that entails the installment of a command reservoir which will not only supply Masewen, but also other communities with water from the dam. The tenders for the project have already closed and the project will be ready by the end of January 2016,” said Mosoma.

On November 27 the Sekhukhune District Municipality held a meeting with the Masewen residents in which the latter were assured they would receive purified water from a steel tank leading from the Steelbridge water reservoir to Masewen Village, via a 10km water pipeline. This will provide temporarily relief until the end of December. The councillors of the municipality also told the residents that they were very shocked about the violent and criminal protest they participated in. The residents were aware of the short- and long-term projects and, according to Mosoma, the residents apologised for their behaviour and stated that they knew it was wrong to open the two floodgates. They also added that they wanted the attention of the government after they had heard that other villages had been supplied with water from De Hoop Dam, but not them.

The security officer at the gate entrance of the De Hoop Dam confirmed that the water-pipe construction from De Hoop Dam to the Steelpoort reservoir was still continuing as planned and that the damage caused by the two floodgates was not significant enough to cause the construction to be placed on hold.

Mr Johannes Segafa, community liaison officer for the project, confirmed that the protesters had entered the home of the dam operator and demanded him to open two of the floodgates. He also added that minor damage had been caused during this incident and that only two per cent of the water capacity was lost.

Unfortunately, he could not confirm allegations that the police had escorted the protesters to the floodgates.

“We are fully aware of the strike that occurred and the allegations made that the dam operator was forcefully removed from his private property and held hostage until he gave in to their demands of opening the two floodgates. The operator did not open a case regarding this incident, but we are busy with investigations to open an independent case from our side. We will also thoroughly investigate the allegations of the Roossenekal police escorting the protestors” said Col Ronel Otto, Limpopo police spokesman.

Mr Mosoma concluded that they discouraged all criminality and violent actions during the strikes and that they encouraged all citizens to listen, communicate and negotiate with them when issues arise before resorting to strikes.