Staff reporter
VREDEFORT – Forty-one boreholes switched off. Communities without reliable access to water. Residents forced to buy bottled water to survive. And a three-week deadline to resolve a payment dispute that has come and gone.
This is the grim reality confronting residents of Vredefort and Parys under the dissolved Ngwathe Local Municipality, where a dispute between the municipality and Basieng Construction has left communities without water.
The shutdown of the 41 boreholes has plunged residents into a desperate struggle for one of life’s most basic necessities, raising fresh questions about the municipality’s ability to protect communities from the fallout of contractual and payment disputes.
The STEPUPSANEWS team travelled to Vredefort, where residents described the hardship they are enduring. The team also visited Parys, where residents reported similar water shortages.
For those affected, the crisis is not a political talking point or an administrative inconvenience. It is a daily battle to secure water for drinking, cooking, washing and other essential household needs.
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And frustration is boiling over.
THREE–WEEK DEADLINE MISSED
The latest developments follow an intervention by Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo on 21 September.
Mahlobo instructed Ngwathe to resolve the matter within three weeks. That deadline has since passed, yet the dispute remains unresolved and residents continue to bear the consequences.
A meeting between Basieng Construction and Ngwathe, scheduled for last week, collapsed.
When asked about the next meeting, municipal manager Dr Patrick Mothamaha indicated that discussions would resume this week.
“We meeting next week,” he said.
However, with the boreholes switched off and communities still struggling to access water, the question is how much longer residents are expected to wait for a resolution.
Neither the municipality’s payment dispute nor the failure of negotiations should leave ordinary residents carrying the burden of a crisis they did not create.
‘WE ARE FORCED TO BUY BOTTLED WATER‘
For residents, the cost of the water crisis is measured not only in inconvenience but also in money they can ill afford to spend.
One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said households had been forced to buy bottled water because they could not survive without it.
“We don’t have water. We are forced to buy bottled water because we can’t survive without water.
“Even water tanks are not helping.”
The resident’s account paints a picture of communities caught between the high cost of securing their own water and the failure of the usual supply arrangements to meet their needs.
The complaint that water tanks are not providing an adequate solution also raises questions about the effectiveness, availability and accessibility of emergency water provision.
For households already under financial pressure, buying bottled water to meet basic needs adds another expense to an already difficult situation.
‘WE ARE ALL IN KAK, LITERALLY’
Residents’ anger has also turned towards political leadership, particularly given Vredefort’s connection to the Head of the Presidency.
One resident questioned how a community could continue to endure such conditions while someone holding a senior position in the Presidency came from the area.
“What’s crazy is we suffer like this while the Head of the Presidency is from Vredefort. Surely he knows. At least his family should be telling him, but we are all in kak, literally.”
The remarks reflect the depth of frustration among residents who feel abandoned while struggling to access a basic service.
With local government elections approaching, the crisis also presents a political challenge for the ANC, particularly if residents believe their grievances are not being addressed.
The political implications, however, are secondary to the immediate question confronting the municipality: when will residents have reliable access to water again?
PARYS RESIDENTS ALSO CRY FOUL
The STEPUPSANEWS team made a brief stop in Parys, where residents also reported a lack of water.
Residents shared videos documenting conditions they said they had been subjected to and called on the publication to escalate the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
One of the videos appeared to show water containing worm-like organisms. The footage raises serious concerns about water quality, although the contents have not been independently verified.
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If confirmed, contamination of water intended for human consumption would present an additional public health concern requiring urgent investigation by the relevant authorities.
The residents’ call for the matter to be taken to the SAHRC underscores the seriousness of their grievances and their demand for accountability.
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Access to safe water is essential to human dignity and public health. The situation therefore requires more than promises of future meetings: residents need clear answers, effective emergency measures and a credible plan to restore a reliable supply.
NGWATHE, WHERE DOES ACCOUNTABILITY BEGIN AND END?
The immediate dispute centres on the shutdown of 41 boreholes amid a payment dispute between Basieng Construction and Ngwathe. But the broader questions are unavoidable.
What led to the dispute? What payments are outstanding, if any? What steps has the municipality taken to resolve the impasse? And what contingency measures have been put in place to protect residents while negotiations continue?
These are questions that deserve clear answers from the municipality and the contractor.
The shutdown has exposed the vulnerability of communities whose access to water can be disrupted by a dispute between the parties responsible for providing or maintaining the service.
Residents should not have to buy their way out of a water crisis while institutions negotiate behind closed doors.
Each borehole pumps 76 cubic litter per hour,
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This is Ngwathe!
And STEPUPSANEWS is not done asking questions.
Next week, the publication will release recordings and deposit slips relating to alleged payments of R3.9 million made to secure tenders in Ngwathe.
The material is expected to raise further questions about procurement and accountability in the municipality. The allegations will need to be tested against the evidence, and those implicated will be given an opportunity to respond.
For now, the immediate question remains unanswered: who will restore the water, and when will the people of Vredefort and Parys finally see their taps running again?
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