Residents in Welkom, Odendaalsrus, Hennenman, and Ventersburg, among others, have been without water since last week, owing to the contentious relationship between the two parties over Matjhabeng’s hefty R4,4 billion bill. According to Matjhabeng spokesperson Kgojane Matutle, the payment agreement was born from a series of meetings between the municipality, provincial government, as well as the Deputy Ministers of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in the last few days. It was decided that certain payments are needed to the water board by Matjhabeng and Nala Local Municipalities.

Water supply is expected to be restored throughout Matjhabeng between 22 and 24 October. Matutle says the process of restoring water supply and distributing it to people’s homes is a lengthy one and residents need to exercise some patience.

The problems all started when the water board’s creditors came to roost last week with the bulk of the pressure coming from Eskom, who ended up cutting supply to Sedibeng’s facilities to just four hours a day following non-payment. Without electrical power for the vast majority of the day or access to water purifying chemicals, and now boycotting workers, Sedibeng Water was forced to apply the pressure on the Matjhabeng and Nala Local Municipalities to make partial payments on their debt.

Meanwhile, Sedibeng Water is threatening to take disciplinary action against these boycotting employees, should they not return to work as soon as possible. The water board’s cash flow problems are mounting with employees yet to receive their salaries for the month amidst pressure from suppliers and creditors.

The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has weighed in on the matter, telling OFM News that whilst they do acknowledge that the blame here falls squarely on the shoulders of the local municipalities that are heavily indebted to Sedibeng Water, it is now the employees who are bearing the brunt of the mess. Free State Samwu’s provincial secretary, Tiisetso Mahlatsi, explains the boycott is also due to the non-payment of their annual salary increments as per the recently concluded salary and wage agreement in the Amanzi Bargaining Council (ABC) which Sedibeng Water is party to. Mahlatsi provides the latest update on the situation.

OFM News