POLOKWANE – Widespread water outages continue across Polokwane today, despite Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) confirming that its Olifantspoort plant has been fully operational since 13:00 on Thursday.

This contradicts expectations set yesterday after LNW completed its shutdown ahead of schedule, announcing that water supply to Polokwane’s reservoirs was expected to begin stabilising from 23:00.

However, residents across the city woke up to dry taps, again.

A quick WhatsApp poll conducted by the Polokwane Review-Observer on our WhatsApp groups showed an overwhelming response: “No water.”

More votes continue to stream in as residents across the city report zero supply, low pressure or intermittent trickles.

Areas reporting problems include parts of Ivypark, Bendor, Penina Park, Serala View and Seshego, among others.

The continued outages come at a time when the city is preparing to host two major events this weekend:

• The Carling Cup Final at Peter Mokaba Stadium and
• The Lekompo Balcony Mix music event, both expected to attract thousands

Polokwane, which has long expressed its ambition to become Limpopo’s first metro, is once again under fire for failing to provide basic services as residents have questioned how it can host high-profile events, while large parts of the city go without water.

LNW, however, has distanced itself from the current outages.

In a response to the Review-Observer, spokesperson Joe Makhafola confirms that LNW was not responsible for the prolonged water shortages.

“The Polokwane Municipality should be responsible for that. Our scheme has been operating since yesterday,” he says.

This places responsibility back on the Polokwane Municipality, which has not yet issued an official explanation for the citywide shortage.

Further updates will follow as soon as official comment is received from the municipality.