Heads should roll over Bronkhorstspruit dirty water
· Citizen
Residents who fell seriously ill from contaminated water in Bronkhorstspruit and the surrounding areas have every reason to feel aggrieved with the City of Tshwane, that failed to warn them the water was not safe for consumption as it had not been chlorinated.
More than 400 people fell sick – mostly children under the age of four – and had to be treated for diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
While sort of taking responsibility for the crisis, the dispute with the council’s chlorine supplier should not affect residents.
And if it does, they should have certainly warned their residents. They didn’t.
Nor should infrastructure be blamed.
A clean, consistent supply of water is a right. It’s also a massive talking point ahead of the local elections next month so, naturally, opposition parties have not missed an opportunity to lay the blame at ActionSA’s Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya’s door.
Both the EFF and DA laid criminal charges against her, alleging negligence, dereliction of duty and failures in the management of water services, while demanding her resignation.
Motor Industry Staff Association CEO of operations Martlé Keyter said: “The standards for water services require municipalities to notify communities when water is unsafe for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing.
“Yet residents of Zithobeni, Dark City, Rethabiseng, Sokhulumi and Bronkhorstspruit continued using tap water because they were never informed of the risks.”
Keyter added: “Families are now paying the price for that failure. Working parents have been forced to buy safe drinking water, while covering the costs of medical treatment for the sick.”
Taxpayers deserve better. Communities deserve better.
When our children and families suffer the consequences of authorities not being capable of treating water properly, then we are in big trouble – and heads should roll.