A service delivery crisis amid allegations of corruption in the local municipality continues to affect residents in the tourism hotspot of Knysna in the Garden Route region of the Western Cape.
Water, sanitation and sewage issues are among several ongoing problems since last year. Residents recently took their fight to the local municipality, to demand a solution.
Knysna residents frustrated over water crisis:
The Knysna Mayor, Aubrey Tsengwa, has blamed aging infrastructure. He says they have applied for R10 million in funding for back-up pumps and generators.
“We’ve got an old infrastructure which was last installed 30-years-ago. Our asbestos pipes keeps breaking now and then but the intervention that we are putting as the municipality, the current coalition as well as our administration, is to ensure that each and every area where there’s a pipe break, that we are providing water tankers.”
One of the residents, Donovan Pofadder says Hornlee is one of the worst affected areas.
“Here in Hornlee we’ve had water for two days and nothing for six days. They say it’s old infrastructure, but we don’t think it’s true. We think it’s a capacity problem, a lack of skills and possible sabotage. There’s people making money cause when the water is off, contractors need to come in to distribute water with a truck to the community.”
Services delivery crisis in Knysna, Western Cape:
