JOHANNESBURG - Residents of Kwaggafontein currently receive water three times a week -- on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Thembisile Hani Municipality Mayor Lesetja Dikgale says this is a significant improvement compared with the situation the municipality inherited when his administration took office in 2021.
"We identified this as a key development area and we needed to come up with three very important interventions," he says.
One of those interventions was developing water infrastructure, including dams to supply the area.
The first major project was completing the Bundu Weir. Dikgale says the associated water treatment plant now supplies between 7.5 million and 10 million litres of water to residents.
He says the municipality is also expecting an additional 20 million litres from Loskop Dam, while plans are underway to secure more water from Rand Water and Magalies Water.
The mayor says the municipality has reported the City of Tshwane to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) for allegedly failing to deliver 16.5 million litres of water as agreed.
According to Dikgale, Tshwane has been uncooperative, prompting the municipality to seek intervention from the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Cooperative Governance (COGTA).
"Our view is that we should engage DWS and agree that a better water service authority can do a better job," says Dikgale.
While long-term water solutions are being implemented, the municipality says supplying water on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays is the best it can currently provide.
Beyond water, Dikgale says the municipality has recorded no irregular, fruitless or wasteful expenditure during the first three quarters of the financial year.
He also says revenue collection has improved from 4 percent to more than 20 percent, with the goal of reaching 30 percent by the end of the current term.
"In our engagement with the community, we have reached a point where they understand the importance of paying for their services because they can see the practical service delivery," he adds.
Dikgale says another major milestone has been the development of a private hospital in the municipality, which he believes will attract further investment.
"The hospital is linked to our mixed development initiative," he says.
The municipality is now awaiting the release of land by the national government before those projects can proceed.