Dear Editor
The water crisis in Matjhabeng has reached unprecedented levels, now violating residents’ basic human rights and exposing the municipality to a massive fire risk.
Despite the Democratic Alliance’s ongoing legal efforts, yet another critical issue has now arrived: the severe lack of water cripples the fire department’s ability to extinguish fires, as fire hydrants across the municipality are dry.
With only one fire truck serving Matjhabeng, recent fires have devastated homes, leaving families without belongings and nowhere to turn.
The Democratic Alliance has been raising alarms since 2022 about Matjhabeng’s dire shortage of fire trucks. Two years later, the municipality remains in a crisis:
- Only one fire truck is available, and worsening water scarcity further heightens the risk of failing to extinguish dangerous fires.
In October 2024, a tragic incident unfolded in Odendaalsrus when a house caught fire and quickly spread due to the lack of water. The only fire truck dispatched from another emergency in Riebeeckstad arrived to find dry fire hydrants, resulting in the family losing everything.
On 4 November, a tree ignited in Odendaalsrus due to hanging electrical lines. Fortunately, a resident’s JoJo tank helped contain the blaze until firefighters arrived.
Since September 2024, four homes in Ward 35’s informal settlement have been lost to fire.
The DA demands immediate intervention from the Free State Provincial Government and Matjhabeng Local Municipality to address this crisis.
We call for an urgent deployment of additional fire trucks, a reliable water supply, and a comprehensive public education campaign on fire prevention and emergency response.
Regards
Estelle Dansey
DA Councillor Matjhabeng Local Municipality