Municipality puts best foot forward for probe
According to a report by the Human Rights Commission, most of the province's municipalities were found to be failing residents.
The SA Human Rights Commission on Monday released a scathing report on the stability and sustainability of Mpumalanga municipalities, finding that most of the province’s 17 municipalities and three district municipalities are struggling to provide basic services to citizens.
Political instability has been cited as one of the more severe contributing factors, with the commission conducting its local investigations with selective site visits during the 2021 municipal strikes, which resulted in the removal of then Municipal Manager Bheki Khenisa.
The HRC probed both Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM) and the Nkangala District authority (NDM) for service delivery failures, with the NDM reporting surplus availability of water, sanitation and electricity in Greater Middelburg.
In written submissions, STLM said the town comprised of 71 022 serviced households, 1 102 traditional dwellings, as well as 12 480 informal dwellings.
Under the services provided, STLM exclusively cited water provision as an ongoing problem due to aged infrastructure.
Burst pipes, a lack of storage, industrial use and vandalism were blamed for regular interruptions.
According to the municipality, 67.7 kilometres of PVC pipes had been installed.
It was, however, found that only two senior managers, out of the five employed by STLM, met the minimum competency requirements, while water treatment plant workers had no formal qualifications.
Site visits were conducted at Nasaret, Newtown, Doornkop and Rietkuil, and the findings were:
• Nasaret – dirty tap water, sporadic sewage spillages and waste removal inconsistencies.
• Newtown – water is only available for a few hours a day from communal taps and pit toilets with no formal sewage systems.
• Rietkuil – occasional sewage spills.
• Doornkop – Inconsistent JoJo Tank water availability, pit toilets with no sewage systems, self-disposal of waste by burning and illegal dumping, gravel roads, and no municipal electricity supply.
According to NDM submissions, there were 86 713 households with 74 053 of them having access to potable water within STLM.
The capacity of available water infrastructure was 68 megalitres per day, while demand peaked at 49.1 megalitres, resulting in a water surplus of 18.8 megalitres.
In terms of sanitation, 71 018 households had access to services, with a 10-megalitre surplus on the daily demand of 35 megalitres.
A total of 78 129 households received electricity with a daily supply capacity of 135 megavolt amperes (MVA), against the demand of 79.6MVA and a surplus of 55MVA.
According to NDM’s projections based on the 2016 survey, 85 484 out of the 86 713 households received waste removal services, while 665 kilometres of road had been tarred during the period under review.
The outdated survey sketches a picture of prosperity but was debunked by STLM’s probe, with the municipality citing water woes as its biggest challenge.
• The Middelburg Observer coincidentally submitted questions to the municipality in regard to PVC pipe replacement and connectivity last week due to ongoing pipe bursts. Read the report in this week’s edition of the Middelburg Observer.
