Water an election battleground in Free State
22 July 2016 - 10:35
A scarcity of water has turned into an elections battleground in an African National Congress-run municipality in the Free State where residents rely on handouts from the Democratic Alliance.
Masilonyana Municipality has tried‚ unsuccessfully‚ to stop the DA from delivering clean water to residents.The High Court in Bloemfontein on Thursday denied the municipality an interdict to prevent their political rivals from supplying water to those who have none.The municipality consists of five former transitional local councils: Theunissen‚ Brandfort‚ Winburg‚ Verkeerdevlei and Soutpan.DA Free State leader Patricia Kopane said that the municipalities water woes started in 2012.“Many residents are now without any form of water and the DA stepped in to deliver clean water on a regular basis. The DA has been providing water to residents since 2015 and the municipality was well-aware of this‚” she said.She described as “mindboggling” efforts by the ANC to stop their delivery of water and accused the party of being more interested in maintaining power at all costs than looking after residents in need.“Access to water is a basic human right‚ enshrined in our Constitution‚” she said...
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