Water, and related issues like sanitation and pollution, are issues frequently raised by voters and political parties.
The Municipal bulk water station that was damaged during a protest by residents over the area's water supply, 7 September 2021, Mpumalanga. Picure: Jacques Nelles
Where I stay in Hartbeespoort, the municipal ward’s WhatsApp group displays daily water-related messagessuch as burst pipes and blocked sewerage lines. When a province cannot or does not fulfil its statutory obligations, according to Section 100 of the constitution, the national government may intervene.
Where a reticulation system is not in place, like in informal settlements, the authority finds other means to deliver The Kgetlengrivier municipality, also in the North West, is a typical example, where the dysfunction around water services created an opening for civil society to step in. Here, and in other locations in SA, the situation has evolved where leaders of interest groups involved in water service are standing as independent candidates.
Nevertheless, the proximity of water services to citizens and water security threats and opportunities seems to be diluting the state-centric focus of decentralisation.
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