Mafube Business Forum (MBF) want to thank the community for its response to "The Governance Scorecard for Mafube Local Municipality (Mafube)".
It is clear from the feedback that many residents believe that service delivery, particularly water provision, fall far short ofacceptable levels. The reason for MBF doing periodic polls and questionnaires, is to encourage public participation and to serve the community by establishing the areas of concern, in order to develop suitable solutions.
One concerning issue that keeps surfacing is: Water - no water; dirty water, leaking water, faulty prepaid water meters, and the list continues...
South Africa has placed the right to sufficient water as a Constitutional right in its Bill of Rights. But what does that mean? It places a legal obligation on the municipality to ensure that all people living within its borders have access to sufficient clean water. It is estimated that each person on earth requires between 20 to 50 liters of clean, safe water a day for drinking, cooking, and simply keeping themselves clean - vitally important during a pandemic.
Clean water is essential in improving living standards not only here, but worldwide. Water quality also has an impact on the economy and hydration, food-production, sanitation and health of a community. This brings us back to the ongoing water situation in Frankfort and other towns within Mafube.
Water disruptions in Frankfort have become the accepted norm and yet no action is taken to remedy the over pressure situation which is the major cause of "bursting" water mains and the loss of millions of litres of expensive treated water. Mafube's solution: make residents pay for in advance for water which cannot be delivered through obsolescent prepaid water meters! Even though some complaints are attended to, too many slip through the cracks, which indicates the lack of technical, organisational and operational capacity at Mafube Local Municipality. In more than one instance, it took a change of ownership to uncover water leakages which has been the cause of severe damage to property, after having been reported months ago.
We trust that in the days ahead,Mafube will realise the importance of cooperating with the community.This aspect will be of vital importance to successfully implement the allocated funds referred to hereafter. The funds or amount earmarked for Repairs Maintenance in the municipal budget may be a reflection of the fact that the Municipality is starting to acknowledge the poor state of the infrastructure.
Visit our offices at 18A Church Street during our business hours, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 08:30 to 12:30, or contact Marina on WhatsApp at 079 145 4295. Or send an email to info@mafubebf.org
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