AfriForum demands intervention after eight months of unreliable water supply in Ritchie

Residents of Ritchie in the Northern Cape, through AfriForum, have formally requested the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality to address the sporadic water supply that has persisted for approximately eight months. Water supply in the area has deteriorated since May this year, with residents sometimes going for days without any reliable water supply.

“This has long since ceased to be merely a normal water interruption. Residents simply do not know when they will have water or when the taps will run dry again,” says Werner Strauss, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Northern Cape.

A formal letter was sent to the Municipal Manager last week, demanding that residents’ complaints be addressed and that clarity be provided regarding a possible non-return valve that may be causing the water problems.

“We are calling for a proper technical investigation. If there is indeed a check valve, the Municipality must be able to explain when and why it was installed, where it is located, and whether it is functioning properly. More importantly, it must explain why several households are experiencing the same water problems,” says Strauss.

“The response that residents should simply install a borehole and water tank is not an acceptable substitute for proper municipal service delivery. Residents may make use of alternative water sources, but this cannot replace the Municipality’s responsibility to properly manage and maintain its water infrastructure.”

AfriForum is also requesting that the Department of Water and Sanitation be involved in the investigation to determine whether the problem is related to, among other things, water pressure, pumps, reservoirs, main water pipelines, valves, leaks, maintenance or network management.

“Residents are not asking for special treatment, only for the most basic service: a reliable water supply. We are also calling for proper communication, transparency and accountability. A situation in which households have been unable to rely on a dependable water supply for approximately eight months cannot simply be ignored,” says Strauss.

Should the Municipality fail to properly investigate and address the problem, AfriForum reserves the right to escalate the matter further to, among others, the Department of Water and Sanitation, the provincial government and the South African Human Rights Commission.