Despite continuous water shortages, the Makhado Municipality on Monday bluntly rejected a motion by the Democratic Alliance (DA) to put a moratorium on new water connections in Louis Trichardt and Tshikota.

The DA, who already brought the motion in September last year, described Council’s decision as appalling. The reason why the motion only served before Council now was due to the fact the Council initially claimed that they did not have any proof that the motion had been submitted, despite the DA´s being able to produce an acknowledgement of receipt.

The DA was especially appalled at the naïve attitude Council displayed with regard to the town’s water crisis. During Monday’s meeting, Council made it clear that the water situation in town was not an extreme crisis yet. They were of the opinion that the DA’s motion was uncalled for, seeing that there is insufficient evidence that the Louis Trichardt and Tshikota communities were complaining about the water situation.

“Clearly it would suggest that Council is completely out of touch with the community’s dire need for a reliable and consistent supply of decent water to Louis Trichardt and Tshikota. It would also appear that they are oblivious to the fact that water, as well as the quality thereof, has been a topic of discussion for months, if not years, in the Zoutpansberger,” said local DA councillor Annette Kennealy.

Kennealy referred to the Bill of Rights as contained in the South African Constitution, which clearly states that South African citizens have the right to sufficient water and that the State must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve these progressive realisations of each of these rights. With regard to this, Kennealy said that some parts of town had no continuous water supply for up to five days of the week. As a result, the DA has decided to launch a massive petition in the coming weeks in support of the moratorium to force the Makhado Municipality to honour its constitutional obligation.

When approached for comment on Tuesday, Municipal Manager Mr Shadrack Tshikalange confirmed that the motion of the DA had been rejected. Although admitting that water shortages in town were a huge problem, Tshikalange said that the process of development could not be stopped. “The current water shortages will be addressed,” Tshikalange said. He added that the municipality will work closely with the Vhembe District Municipality to tackle the water situation for the Louis Trichardt region.