The Executive Mayor of the Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality, Councillor Mbuso Magubane, convened a meeting with stakeholders in Carolina to address the ongoing water scarcity and drought impacting the community.
The meeting was held on October 02 in Carolina, aimed to discuss the severity of the crisis and explore both immediate and long-term solutions.
The water scarcity issue originated when the water levels in the local dam dropped significantly, making it challenging for the municipality to meet the community’s water demand.
In response, the Executive Mayor, along with the municipal council, sought intervention from the national government. The plan involves using water from a nearby dam to supply Carolina, but this measure is expected to be implemented after the next financial year in June 2025.
“In the meantime, the municipality is drilling boreholes to access underground water. I would like to urge all stakeholders and the broader community to propose interim solutions. I am calling on those with private boreholes, including schools, farms, and mines, to make their resources available for community use. In exchange, these institutions would be exempt from water billing,” he said.
Magubane added that water restrictions will be introduced in stages, modelled after the load-shedding system, with different levels determining water usage until the crisis is resolved.
The community has been advised to boil water before use for health reasons.
Residents are encouraged to stay informed through the municipality’s Facebook page and local information boards. Any violations or queries can be reported to the call centre at 0800 001 4890 (toll-free) or 017 004 0210 (standard rates apply).
“The municipality remains committed to addressing the water crisis and encourages residents to conserve water and collaborate during this period,” explain Magubane
Meanwhile DA Memberr of the Provincial Legislature, James Masango, said his party will write to the MEC of CoGHTSA, Speedy Mashilo, to urgently intervene and find a way to address severe water shortages at selected municipalities.
This comes after it came to light that Chief Albert Luthuli, Thaba Chweu and Msukaligwa local municipalities are confronted with serious water shortages and severely reduced dam levels.
This situation is worsened by the fact that the Auditor General’s 2022/2023 report stated that lack of infrastructure maintenance by Mpumalanga municipalities caused water distribution losses to increase by R301.05 million to R905.67 million.
“There is a growing frustration and a lack of confidence in these municipalities. It is unacceptable for the ANC government to turn a blind eye to this potential life-threatening crisis that is affecting our communities.The DA is very concerned that CALM’s Boesmanspruit dam is completely empty and as a result the community has been without water for the past few days,” he said
