THE City of uMhlathuze came under heavy attack at a critical meeting this week, held to update key stakeholders on the state of the water crisis.
But no City officials were present to catch the flack, despite two agenda items they were meant to present at Mhlathuze Catchment Management Forum (MCMF).
Absence by City representatives at crucial water meetings has been an on-going occurrence, as has failure to answer correspondence or present required information.
This was stated on Tuesday by senior officials of the Department of Water & Sanitation, who said they would ‘escalate the concern of non-attendance to a higher authority’.
‘The Drought Sub Committee of the MCMF meets every second week and the City also does not attend these – even when held at its own premises,’ said DWS Chief Engineer, Norman Ward.
The meeting agreed that City apparently did not grasp or was not reactive to the dire drought situation, as these government-constituted meetings were deemed ‘compulsory’.
If good rains are not received by February next year, escalation to Level 4 restrictions might occur.
This might include decreasing the supply to the City, who in turn feed industry as well as domestic users – with serious consequences.
The status and capability of the City’s reservoirs to serve its people ‘also requires proper management and feedback’.
‘This is a warning to the City of uMhlathuze: if there is no response at the user end, we will respond at source,’ said Ward.
Besides alleged failure to share essential information such as savings achieved at the present restrictions, concern was also expressed that the community at large is not aware of the present Level 3 implications and instructions, nor of penalties for failure to comply.
Responsibility to communicate that information was said to rest on the local municipality.
Read more on the Zululand drought HERE
