Dry taps a sign of poor planning

Residents in Stanger Manor woke up on New Year’s Day to find their taps dry. Can you imagine starting New Year’s Day without water? For more than a week water disruptions have ruined the plans of many. With visitors and extended families it was just too much to handle.
The initial problem was the inability of the pump to supply enough water, which left reservoir levels at an all time low. Coupled with this problem was a pipe breakage, which was repaired but did not solve the ongoing crisis.
Water tankers were dispatched, but in some cases at odd times so residents were left helpless. I did everything in my power to give feedback to as many people as possible and even assisted the tanker driver to areas where water was most needed up until 10 pm.
I want to empathise with residents who were let down by Ilembe District Municipality. While I had full co-operation from Ilembe officials, it was not solving the problem. This is a classic example of poor planning. According to the recent census our population in KwaDukuza has grown by more than 30 000 since 2011. However we are not investing enough to cater for expansion and upgrades.
Water is life, government cannot shy away from its responsibility. Many lessons have been learnt. Why were more tankers not deployed? It was impossible to cover more than 1200 homes with one tanker in ward 17. In future loud hailers must be used to indicate that the water tanker is in the area. Another concern is instead of repairing the pump, those that have reached their full life cycle should replaced.
Despite the challenges I am hopeful the new year will be better for all of us. Grade 12  pupils remember, the sky is the limit. Good luck. God bless.

CLLR MADHUN SOBRAM SING
KwaDukuza