Cape Town – The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Lizo Nkonki District has expressed deep concern over the prolonged water crisis in Knysna, Southern Cape.
Residents have been grappling with months of water shortages, prompting widespread distress and discontent among the populace.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently acknowledged that one of the major challenges confronting the communities in the country is the issue of access to water.
Despite this, he said, however, that government infrastructure projects are currently underway to bring piped water to remote villages, indicating efforts to address the water access issue.
“Access to clean running water is one of the of the biggest challenges that many of our people face.
“The water infrastructure projects we have focused on in the past few years are bringing piped water to villages that had always relied on streams and boreholes,” the president said during a joint State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate in Cape Town last month.
A water crisis in Knysna has left residents fuming. The Knysna Municipality says technical challenges and load shedding led to reservoirs running low. The situation was worsened after a body was found in a reservoir, leading to the shutdown of four reservoirs.#sabcnews pic.twitter.com/PAbj4oN4z5
— Sphiwe Hobasi (@MrCow_man) December 2, 2023
In a statement, the SACP said it was calling on the municipal authorities to prioritise and engage consistently with the affected residents, keeping them informed about the ongoing efforts to rectify the crisis.
The party asserted that this was not just a matter of utility but a constitutional right that citizens were entitled to, and therefore, it was imperative for the municipality to uphold its responsibilities.
“It has been months that Knysna has seen her residents going without water, and this has rightly caused grave concerns and uproar from the residents. The SACP calls on the municipality to prioritize and respect constant engagement and update the residents on efforts being made in addressing this crisis as it is a constitutional right of the citizens bestowed on the authorities (municipality),” District Secretar Langa Langa said.
He added: “The SACP in the District calls on political leaders to join hands across political party lines and do everything possible to ensure the immediate address of the matter, and whilst seeking for a permanent solution, the municipality must ensure that all communities are equitably catered for without discrimination and prioritising one over the other.”
To comprehensively address the situation, the SACP proposed a forensic investigation into the water crisis.
“Due to the damage this may have caused to the residents of the entire town, the SACP calls for a forensic investigation into this crisis with the main purpose of establishing the genesis of this sudden disruption in water supply.
“This must also establish whether or not there is any third force in this matter, whose plan may be to settle political scores, or even for purposes of unlawfully profiteering through the provision of this irreplaceable source of life,” Langa said.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Unsplash
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