Decisive action and accountability are desperately needed to resolve the water crisis affecting large parts of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM).
Some areas, including Despatch and Kariega, have been without water supply for 13 days; it is unacceptable that residents do not have access to this essential service.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) warns that this amounts to a serious violation of residents’ constitutional right to water.
The root cause of this crisis is more than just the drought and low water levels, it is also years of mismanagement, decaying infrastructure and poor maintenance in the Metro.
Nearly half of the water supply is lost through leaks and wastage, while several reservoirs are not functioning properly.
Residents are now forced to walk kilometres carrying heavy containers, and frustration is mounting at water tankers due to poor coordination, not enough vehicles and unreliable delivery.
Some areas wait days or even up to a week for their turn to receive water — a situation that could rapidly escalate into a humanitarian disaster.
Although repairs to the Sundays River Canal are still underway, it is clear that the main problem is the Metro’s governance failures and lack of political will to act.
The Freedom Front Plus has already requested that the matter be placed on the agenda of the next council meeting.
The party proposes that the ANC coalition government take the following steps:
- Appoint an independent water management committee with external experts to monitor maintenance and planning.
- Ring-fence maintenance budgets and use them exclusively for infrastructure repairs.
- Issue regular, transparent public reports on dam levels and reservoir status.
- Improve coordination of emergency water delivery, focusing specifically on equitable distribution and more frequent delivery times.
Access to water is not a luxury — it is a basic human right and a prerequisite for health, dignity and economic survival.
The Freedom Front Plus demands a demonstration of political will and accountability from the coalition government in addition to decisive steps to resolve this crisis.
Nelson Mandela Bay residents deserve reliable water supply. Offering excuses is not good enough.
Freedom Front Plus Public Participation: The party encourages public participation in governance.
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