This as the residents of Jagersfontein have been facing 6-month long water restrictions, imposed by the water board, Bloem Water, late last year. Protest action flared up nearly three weeks ago when the community caught wind of allegations the Itumeleng Community Trust - established by diamond recovery company Jagersfontein Developments, owned by Johann Rupert, Superkolong Consortium, and Sonop Diamond – offered to pay a part of the near R290 million water bill.

It is alleged the municipality declined the offer because they did not want the money to be paid directly to Bloem Water but to the municipality instead. Municipal spokesperson, Solomzi Phama, told OFM News the allegation they denied assistance from the trust is false. “We have not received any formal or informal correspondence from the Jagersfontein Development Trust that they want to assist the municipality in terms of making payments to Bloem Water.”

OFM News contacted the Chairman of the trust, Sipho Puwani, last week and he declined to comment on the record, saying he is not the official spokesperson of the mine or the trust. The mine, on the other hand, referred all enquiries to Puwani and told OFM News to await an official statement on the matter. The EFF’s Provincial Chairperson, Kgotso Morapela, visited the town last week Thursday and noted the situation is dire.

The municipality said it’s seeking intervention from the provincial and national government on finding long-term solutions to the ongoing water restrictions.

OFM News