Eskom – relief for Modimolle-Mookgophong

The future of residents and business owners of the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality looks brighter after Eskom announced that load shedding will no longer be introduced as from Saturday. Good rains in the catchment areas of the two dams which supply the area has also averted the looming water crisis.
“The community welcomes the relief but remains conscious of the necessity of constant and sustainable availability of resources such as water and electricity and appreciate the efforts taken by the authorities to create awareness for the conservation thereof,” a resident said in reference to the Water Awareness Day that was hosted in the municipal area last week.
Threat of load shedding averted
Marlene van Staden, Mayor of the municipality, confirmed on Monday that the municipality has settled the dispute regarding the overdue electricity account payments with Eskom and that load shedding will no longer be implemented on Saturday. “The decision of Eskom in this regard was motivated by the municipality’s payment of R23 million last Tuesday and also because Eskom agreed that all the necessary public participation processes were not followed,” Van Staden stated.
Van Staden applauded the role of the Waterberg Chamber of Business and the Naboomspruit Besigheidsforum, supported by residents and businesspeople from the broader community, to put pressure on Eskom to reconsider the implementation of load shedding.
Mokone du Preez, Chairperson of the Naboomspruit Besigheidskamer, confirmed on Tuesday that the organisation’s application for an interdict against Eskom that was placed on the roll for the Limpopo High Court, has been withdrawn in view of the latest development.
Dikgabane Rampedi, Eskom Limpopo’s Customer Care Manager, confirmed that power shedding will not be introduced as a result of the minimum payment made by the municipality. “I however dispute that the decision of Eskom was motivated by the non-adherence to public participation protocols,” Rampedi stated.
Dam levels increased significantly
Van Staden also confirmed that the water crisis in the municipality has been stabilised and that by Monday, the Frikkie Geyser (Welgevonden) Dam’s level was above 80%, while the Donkerpoort Dam was more than 40% full. “The crisis is over and water is still pouring in from the catchment areas and we thank everybody who prayed for us,” Van Staden said.
Major water user reaches out to Modimolle
Just before the area received substantial rainfall over the last week, a beverage company with a national footprint showed its support to residents of Molemole when it took part in the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality’s water awareness campaing that was hosted last Thursday.
Lindiwe Zikalala, Regional Communications Specialist of Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) said in a media release that the company saw an opportunity to take part in National Water Week and partner with a government stakeholder to assist in disseminating the importance of water saving.
“CCBSA employees visited the drought stricken area of Modimolle to communicate the need to preserve one of our most valuable resources in collaboration with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the municipality,” Zikalala reported.
According to Zikalala, much needed rainfall disrupted some of the initiatives planned, but teams were still able to share the water conservation messages with small business owners and residents of the local community.
“As a manufacturing company we make use of water aimed to create a message on the right platform to inform everyone, not just communities but businesses as well, to save water. We thank the department for bringing us on board and we want to see the water strategy roll out for years to come as it’s not just an overnight strategy,” Nathalie Hendricks, Regional Public Affairs and Communications Manager of CCBSA is quoted to have said.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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