The Democratic Alliance (DA) will be escalating the failure of the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) to address the water crisis in the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality to the National Parliament.
The CHDM is the water authority to the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality. The district municipality’s failure to deliver water services yet again lays bare the failure of the District Development Model (DDM) in practice.
Nowhere is this failure more evident than at the Xonxa Dam pump station. Despite more than R657.7 million having been spent on this project by 2024, only one pump is currently operational, and it is not pumping sufficient water to meet community needs.
Residents across Enoch Mgijima endure daily water outages, with areas such as Hofmeyr, Tarkastad, Whittlesea, Ezibeleni, Mlungisi and Newrest greatly affected. Households, schools, hospitals and businesses are forced to operate under crisis conditions. While water trucks are meant to provide relief, they do not adhere to delivery schedules, leaving entire areas without water for prolonged periods.
A key driver of this crisis is the poor coordination and communication between the CHDM and the local municipality. The two mayors are clearly not speaking from the same page, resulting in fragmented decision-making and implementation breakdowns. The DDM was sold as a model to improve integration and cooperation, but instead it has entrenched confusion and buck-passing.
I have written to DA National Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Marina van Zyl, to address the DDM’s failure to effectively deal with the water crisis in Enoch Mgijima in the CoGTA Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.
The CHDM requires R1.65 billion to replace water infrastructure in Enoch Mgijima. The district municipality has reportedly requested financial assistance from Eastern Cape CoGTA and Provincial Treasury to address the financial shortfall. Yet there has been no transparent communication with residents about the nature of the request, the financial position of the district or how this support will translate into improved water provision.
At the same time residents are subjected to punitive billing measures, despite unreliable and inconsistent water supply. The DA maintains that fixing and stabilising the billing system must be a priority. Residents cannot be punished for municipal failures.
The people of Enoch Mgijima deserve reliable water supply, honest leadership, and accountable government. The DA will continue to fight for the rights and dignity of all residents.