Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the water crisis in Ratanda was brought to the provincial government’s attention two weeks ago.
The premier was addressing media at the Old Town Hall is Heidelberg, following protests earlier this week that left two community members dead and the mayor’s house torched.
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Lesufi said the service delivery issue came as a shock, as the province’s Inter-Governmental Relations Forum meets every Wednesday to discuss such matters,
“So, when the mayor raised this issue, I was taken aback on the basis that it has never come through on the normal IGR matters, but nevertheless, I thought let me flag it with the MEC, who indicated that indeed, the mayor has raised this issue with him and it has been very difficult to deal with Rand Water in this matter.”
Lesufi said he immediately contacted Rand Water for an analysis of areas of deep concern and extensive discussions had taken place to identify both immediate and long-term interventions to address the crisis.
He said Rand Water has agreed to give Lesedi Municipality two weeks’ breathing room, after which the municipality will use its equitable share allocation to pay for bulk water supply.
“We then agreed that the municipality just needs two weeks to sort out its finances. There’s a grant that normally appears in the account of the municipality between the first and fifteenth of July. We just need it as a bridge from what is outstanding from Rand Water and make payment.”
Meanwhile, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has condemned the violence that erupted during service delivery protests in Ratanda.
During the unrest, two people lost their lives and the home of Lesedi Local Municipality Mayor, Mluleki Nkosi, was set alight.
SALGA spokesperson Motaletale Modiba says while communities have the right to protest over issues such as ongoing water shortages, violence and criminality undermine efforts to find lasting solutions.
“Violence should never become a language we use to put forth our grievances. In as much as those grievances might be legitimate, but we should not use violence as a way of communicating such. This incident shows the continuous pressure that municipalities are finding themselves in given that there’s pressure to provide basic services while revenue base from which municipalities must be able to generate revenue to provide the services in shrinking.”
Anelitha Fandese
www.ewn.co.za
