It is an absolute disgrace that more than R3 billion worth of potable water has gone to waste over the last five years due to leakages and illegal connections in Free State municipalities.
The MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Saki Mokoena, revealed the shocking figures in reply to a question by the FF Plus in the Free State Legislature.
Several Free State towns did not have water during the festive season because infrastructure has not been maintained or upgraded during the last 30 years of ANC rule.
The MEC’s reply makes it clear that the ANC is utterly unable to maintain infrastructure.
Free State residents are bearing the brunt of the ruling party’s failures.
If water in the Free State is lost at this rate, the province may face serious social instability in the foreseeable future.
The FF Plus finds it strange that the MEC’s reply made no mention of the Mangaung Metro’s water losses and will insist in a follow-up question that the Metro’s figures be disclosed as well.
According to the FF Plus’s calculations, Mangaung’s water losses may amount to as much as R1,6 billion during this period.
The other big culprit when it comes to water losses is Matjhabeng, which let more that R1,8 billion worth of clean water go to waste over the last five years.
Both municipalities could have used the squandered funds to construct at least one brand-new water purification plant each and pay off their astronomical debt to the Vaal Central Water Board as well.
In addition, some municipalities failed to submit financial statements, which indicate water losses, for a number of years. So, the water losses are far greater than reported. (Find attached herewith the MEC’s reply regarding municipalities’ water losses.)
It is a crime to waste water on this scale in a water-scarce province while residents are plagued by frequent water outages.
The FF Plus will insist in the relevant Portfolio Committee that the Department and Premier, Maqueen Leshoa-Mathae, explain what each municipality plans to do to curb water losses.