'No water not our problem'
2013-03-10 13:08
Johannesburg - The SA Local Government Association (Salga) has denied that local government is responsible for water shortages, the Sunday Times reports.
"The responsibility of local government is primarily the distribution of water to consumers," Salga head Mthobeli Kolisa said in an interview with the paper.
He said however that the water had to be obtained from dams and that some areas did not have these, or their facilities were unsuitable.
Kolisa said it was the national government's responsibility to maintain dams.
"Even if there was a functioning infrastructure, there would be no water in the taps because there is no water coming in."
However, Kolisa acknowledged that old infrastructure for water distribution was a problem. After apartheid, the decision was taken to extend infrastructure to give more people access to water.
"That infrastructure now needs to be refurbished."
However he said that local government was strapped for cash to fix the problem and was looking into other ways to fund the refurbishing of infrastructure.
Last week the SA Human Rights Commission confirmed it had received 144 complaints in the past two years about problems with the quality and supply of water.
Residents in Louis Trichardt, in Limpopo, for example, reported to the commission they had been without water for 27 days.
- SAPA
