Residents of the Dipaleseng Local Municipality (Balfour, Grootvlei, Greylingstad) are still in the dark about whether or not their drinking water is safe.
While essential infrastructure is decaying due to maladministration, the Municipality is withholding critical data on water quality directly related to public health.
In terms of legislation, the Municipality is obliged to frequently monitor water quality and inform the public of the results. It is failing to fulfil this duty, though.
The Municipal Manager, Mr Lwazi Cindi, regularly dismisses independent test results as “inaccurate” even though district-level data reflect the same high levels of contamination.
Documents recently obtained from the Gert Sibande District Municipality prove that the water is frequently contaminated with sewage and E.coli.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) also conducts independent tests every four months, which confirm these findings.
A serious cause for concern is that the Municipality sometimes fails to submit water samples for testing. This means that there is no certainty about the safety of residents’ drinking water for months on end.
By withholding the monthly results, the Municipality is violating the legal requirement for transparency and protecting public health. It also endangers residents’ lives.
This dereliction is even more shocking in light of the fact that around R122 million was recently invested in upgrading the Fortuna Water Treatment Plant. This facility is still failing to fulfil its primary mandate, namely supplying clean, safe drinking water.
Funds specifically earmarked for increasing the capacity for Grootvlei and new housing developments also made no tangible improvement. Residents are still supplied with cloudy and foul-smelling water.
The constant mismanagement of the Fortuna Plant and the refusal to be honest with the public is a serious charge against the current administration.
It is absolutely unacceptable that millions in tax money has been spent, but residents still have no choice but to use water posing a health risk.
The Freedom Front Plus insists that the Municipality table a concrete plan for infrastructure rehabilitation, and that all monthly water quality results be immediately and consistently disclosed to the public.
The party also submitted questions for reply during the upcoming council meeting on 29 January 2026.
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Now Now – immediately / soon. A confusing phrase for non-locals meaning sometime soon – sooner than just now but quicker than right now.Example: “We’re going to the beach now now!” (But first we have to pack our swimming gear, stop at gas station and maybe get some snacks…).