Open letter to Mr. Ngesi
Dear Mr. Ngesi
It is 14 days since the community of Parys, Tumahole and Schonkenville raised their frustration and anger with regards to the lack of water.
Since then, Kanana has shut down the central business district for 2 days and demanded answers and clean water in their taps.
We requested a meeting with yourself to discuss possible solutions and to get feedback on what has been done, but refused to meet with us, stating that you want all the answers before we meet.
This morning we contacted you before the deadline of 10am, enquiring when we can expect your written reply.
You said you were not ready with answers seeing that the 14 working days have not passed.
We gave 7 days but extended it on the day when we met to hand over the memorandum to 14 days , meaning 14 calendar days. We never mentioned working days seeing that we need a speedy resolution to this health crisis.
In the past 14 days a number of Cholera cases have been reported and sadly one death has been reported from Vredefort.
On the day of the handing over of the memorandum you said that Mr. Phele could not attend, seeing that Vredefort got a scare with regards to the water quality.
In the light of this it means that the ‘scare’ you spoke about has not been addressed in 2 weeks’ time.
To our knowledge, you did not issue a ‘boil notice’ to the Vredefort communities, to inform them that there is a serious health risk in using un-boiled water from the taps.
This is in our eyes a criminal act not to inform residents of a life-threatening issue.
If you did not take it seriously enough to warn the Vredefort residents, where people’s lives are in danger, we understand why you do not take our memorandum seriously and did not prepare your response in due course.
How many people must die, due to poor water quality and no water to ensure basic hygiene before you act.
7256 people signed the petition and demanded answers and you find it in order to play games stating you work on 14 working days.
Each death due to lack of water and poor water quality is on your and the mayor’s hands and we will hold you accountable.
Kanana requested feedback months ago and got nothing, now we are standing as one community, we demand you answer us today, with real answers and no empty promises.
You are instigating protest action and community violence by refusing to answer questions raised by us the community.
In the light of media reports about the outbreak of cholera in Parys and Vredefort we requested the lab results from the water samples taken on the request of Mr. Phele. We requested it to be made available to the public, but the municipality refused to disclose the results.
The weekly meetings with regards to the water issues have been cancelled by you the municipality for 2 weeks.
We can therefor com to only one conclusion. You are hiding the truth from the communities.
We were there for forced to have our own lab tests done on samples, so that the community can be informed as to the real situation regarding the water quality.
We also informed the municipality about the raw sewage flowing into the Vaal River above the water works and below the sewage works as well as other areas.
Some of these areas have been spilling raw sewage into the river for months with no action being taken by the Ngwathe municipality.
Again, we say. This is a criminal act, and we will hold you accountable.
We expect you answers on our memorandum by the close of business today.
No more procrastination, no more excuses, no more deaths due to your administration.
Regards
Save Ngwathe