AfriForum Louis Trichardt says that positive engagement is the way to go.

At its annual general meeting on 10 October, Mr Wally Schultz mentioned the highlights and lowlights of the year in his chairperson’s report. Schultz was unanimously re-elected as chairperson for the next term.

Highlights included the two High Court orders aimed at getting water to the town. The first court order was mentioned as significant because it was deadline driven and the second court order was called a landmark victory, since it could lead to holding the municipal manager accountable in his personal capacity. A highlight was the debushing of the Albasini pipeline to detect leaks, after serious engagement, and the electrification of the new boreholes in town.

On the dedicated complaint line on Facebook, 1113 complaints had been given attention to. One of the best moments was the day in June when the reservoirs were 100% full after running low for years. Getting the co-operation of the municipal manager of Vhembe, Mr Masala Makumule, was a highlight, as was liaison with co-operative people like Mr Moses Shibambu of Vhembe’s communication department and Mr David Mukosi, Vhembe’s Makhado water services manager.

“We had two trains of thought in AfriForum. The one was ‘nail them and put them in jail’ the second was ‘use the court order as a whip and engage with them’, ”said Schultz who chose the second train of thought “with the backing of Afriforum head office.” Schultz added that a court order in itself did not bring water or debushing of the pipeline. “It is so frustrating to have won a court order but still things don’t happen. I found that positive engagement is the answer. Every time I engaged, it produced results. I had opposition from some committee members, and some people in town verbally abused me like you can’t believe it.  I was called a %@##&-boetie, especially by those phoning late at night. For those who think I’m soft on Vhembe, there’s no ‘tjommie-tjommie’, but I think I have achieved something. I have built up a trust. When I phoned, I had positive results. Vhembe largely met the court order and I believe it is because of engagement,” Schultz said.

Schultz said that subsequent problems with the water did appear, especially with the aged Albasini pipeline and added that he believed there was even a plan for the ageing pipeline through positive engagement.

The lowlights included the dire security situation, where cables and expensive pump station equipment were vandalized and stolen, the disappointing opening ceremony of new boreholes that were not in working order, the town that was drowning in sewage and the little time spent on proper membership drives.