Phalaborwa businesses fear collapse over water crisis

As South Africa prepares for this year’s budget speech, some Limpopo communities hope that resources will be directed towards fixing water infrastructure, so that they can access clean running water. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the Budget Speech tomorrow after it was postponed last month. The business sector in the small mining town of Phalaborwa fears that chronic water shortages in the area will lead to a collapse of their businesses and loss of jobs. The area has been experiencing constant water cuts.

Gym manager Karel Reybrouck and restaurant owner, Corne Kaizer say buying water adds to their operating costs. “Nothing gets out of our JoJo tanks, from the reservoirs or the truck from the municipality. This affects the gym, restaurant and the doctor’s surgery. It is vital for the cleaning but there’s no water. We get at least twice a day a thousand liter from water company in town, they supply us with water just so we do the necessary staff can be done. So, it’s almost costing us R4 000 extra monthly to get water so we can do small things that can be cleaned,” Reybrouck says.

“We can’t clean the shop properly; we just have to go walk to get water. So, it’s been a really a problem, it’s been two weeks now not having water, we have to buy water if the municipality can’t supply us with water and it’s costing us money” Kaizer adds. Meanwhile, Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality owes the water service authority, Lepelle Northern Water millions of rands in historic debt. The Mopani District Municipality says the debt is being serviced, denying that Lepelle is currently rationing water supply as a result of the debt. “The issue of water supply challenges in Phalaborwa it has got nothing to do with Lepelle, we are servicing the historical debt including the current account. So, it was just a technical challenge that they experienced at the water treatment plant, which then enabled them to attend to and we can confidently say water supply is improving, it has nothing to do with the debt that we have. We do have a historic debt which we are servicing and the current account.”