Africa-Press – South-Africa. Residents of Kokosi in Fochville have been without water for five months as the municipality has failed to settle its R1.4 billion debt with Rand Water.
The bulk supplier has steadily reduced its supply to the small town in Gauteng to try to get the local Merafong City Local Municipality to honour its debt payments to the utility.
In the meantime, residents have been forced to collect water from the same drain that transfers dirt and sewage from the settlement.
The municipality’s spokesperson, Thabo Maloja, said Kokosi is the hardest hit by the water restrictions imposed by Rand Water.
“We know the challenges of water supply in the municipality. We provide water tankers to the affected areas impacted by the water restrictions imposed by Rand Water, not by the municipality,” Maloja told the SABC.
“There are individuals who are blocking the water tankers from entering Kokosi. We have opened criminal cases against those individuals.”
Maloja explained that the municipality has been unable to provide schools and clinics with water in the area due to the actions of these individuals.
The lack of water in Kokosi is a symptom of an underlying issue at the municipality, as it does not collect enough revenue from providing the resource to pay Rand Water.
This is due to inadequate revenue collection systems and a culture of non-payment from residents. When supply is interrupted, even less revenue is collected, exacerbating the municipality’s inability to pay.
Maloja said the municipality continues to engage with Rand Water through various forums and has presented plans to make its debt payments in exchange for the restoration of full service.
“We have presented a couple of options on how we can resolve the water crisis. We accept that we are not collecting enough to pay what is owed to Rand Water, but we have been paying around R10 million per month to the utility,” Maloja said.
“This is short of what Rand Water has been billing us. We have presented proposals, but Rand Water brings junior officials to these meetings who cannot make decisions. This makes it difficult to resolve the issue.”
Rand Water announced in August that it would reduce bulk water supply to the Merafong Municipality by a further 20% after the parties were unable to find a solution to the R1.4 billion owed to the utility.
The bulk water supplier said the municipality, after months of deliberations, has continuously refused to honour its debt payments.
It said the reduction in bulk water supply is necessary to limit further growth in the municipality’s debt bill to the utility.
Rand Water added that it will not allow a situation where its financial stability is placed at risk because of defaulting municipalities.
Merafong under fire
Merafong is in deep financial and operational trouble, with a government committee warning that it faces collapse without urgent interventions.
The municipality incorporates key areas, such as Carletonville, Khutsong, Fochville, Greenspark, Welverdiend, Wedela, and Blybank.
In August, the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) met with the municipality’s leadership to assess its performance.
While some residents in Fochville have gone without water for five months, other towns in the municipality have been without electricity for periods longer than a month due to transformer failures.
The committee said in a statement that the municipality’s own performance assessment shows it only achieved 34% of service delivery targets in the past financial year.
In addition, Merafong has been accused of appointing a Deputy CFO in April 2024, despite the fact that no such position exists.
Residents in the municipality have even petitioned the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for intervention in its deteriorating service delivery.
The NCOP considered the petition and called on the Gauteng CoGTA to provide support to the municipality and demanded monthly progress reports on its turnaround.
It also instructed that forensic investigations be undertaken into questionable procurement and payments thereof, reckless recruitment, and the appointment of dubious senior officials.
The Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee has repeatedly slated Merafong City Local Municipality, accusing it of misleading the public, wasting resources, and failing to take accountability.
The committee said the municipality has routinely shifted blame for the area’s problems onto residents and mining houses, without acknowledging its own role in the crisis.
The members argue that mining houses are already paying half their dues into municipal accounts, with the rest withheld due to ongoing court battles over contested billing.
The Greater Fochville Water Crisis Committee said the households in Fochville and Kokosi were among Merafong’s highest payers.
The committee also accused officials of misusing revenue that should be directed toward service delivery, saying the mayor’s R1.5 million State of the City address could have been used to repair reservoirs or improve water tanker operations.
The mayor’s address came just two weeks after Rand Water escalated supply cuts due to payment defaults.
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