Cosatu in the Free State is concerned about the water that has been channelled to the Vaal Dam.
The trade union says this happens while people around Sterkfontein Dam, residing in Qwaqwa, are still with dry taps.
According to provincial secretary Monyatso oa Mahlatsi, they learned with alarm that water would be released from Sterkfontein Dam on Monday to increase the levels of the Vaal Dam.
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“We know for a fact that since the beginning of the year water has been flowing from Sterkfontein Dam to the Vaal. We need to clarify that we do not oppose this move to ensure water supply to the economic capital of our country, however, we remain concerned that the water is being channelled through to the Vaal; whilst the people who are twenty kilometers away from Sterkfontein Dam remains without water.”
The union has expressed its concern that the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation together with the Maluti A Phofung Municipality, have failed to come up with an affordable and viable solution to the water crisis in Qwaqwa.
Mahlatsi mentioned that the solution has been staring the department and the municipality in their faces all the time!
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“We remain convinced that the water crisis in Qwaqwa has very little to do with the drought but that it is man made! There is a lack of will to resolve the problem and if such existed, the problem could have been resolved a long time ago or at least the community would know about the plan to resolve such.”
“We are concerned about the eagerness of Maluti A Phofung Municipality to continue with the services of privately owned trucks used to deliver water to the tanks in Qwaqwa, whilst there is infrastructure and there is a water outlet in the area situated in Bluegum Bosch, which could be used to resolve the water problems,” he reiterated.
Statement Issued by Cosatu in the Free State
