Staff Reporter
WaterCAN has called for Lesedi Local Municipality Mayor Mluleki Nkosi to resign after two people died during water-related protests in Ratanda, south of Heidelberg, saying the crisis was the result of municipal failure and required urgent provincial and national intervention.
The civic water rights organisation said on Saturday it was “deeply disturbed by confirmed reports that two people have died during water-related protests in Lesedi Local Municipality, where residents have been without water following the municipality’s failure to settle its debt to Rand Water”.
“This crisis, like so many others, did not start with the protests. It started when the municipality failed to manage its finances and failed to protect residents from the consequences of that failure,” said WaterCAN executive director Dr Ferrial Adam.
The protests have escalated sharply over the past week, as the community has been without potable water for almost two weeks. eNCA reported on Friday that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) was probing whether the deaths resulted from police action during the protests.
The latest demonstrations began in Extension 23 on Wednesday before spreading to other parts of Ratanda, with police deployed after tensions escalated. Nkosi’s home was set alight during the protests.
WaterCAN said the mayor, council and senior officials should be held accountable.
“The Lesedi mayor, council and senior municipal officials must be held accountable for allowing the situation to reach the point where taps run dry, communities erupt in desperation, and lives are lost.”
WaterCAN said it believed the mayor must resign, and that serious consideration should be given to dissolving the municipality or placing it under urgent intervention if it could no longer meet its basic constitutional obligations.
Rand Water reduced bulk potable water supply to Lesedi by 20% after the municipality failed to honour scheduled payments. Engineering News reported that Rand Water said Lesedi owed it R27.71 million and that the reduction was implemented on June 17 after months of engagement and failed debt settlement payments.
“We understand that Rand Water must be paid. But the solution being implemented is socially flawed. Rand Water has a social responsibility to make sure the most vulnerable are not impacted and throttling of services, due to non-payment by the municipality, hurts the most vulnerable. The water board, like many across the country are fanning the crisis and not helping resolve it, ” Adam said.
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