'Blood will flow' in Karoo town's war over water

26 February 2015 - 17:36 By BOBBY JORDAN and JEROME CORNELIUS
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

A drought in the Little Karoo has ignited a race row in parched Ladismith, where the mayor has asked the national government to stop farmers "stealing" the town's water.

Kannaland mayor Jeffrey Donson this week warned that "blood will flow" unless white farmers shared their water with towns, including Ladismith, which has less than three weeks' supply left.

But the farmers have hit back, claiming they were being used as scapegoats for the officials' shortcomings.

They said the municipality was taking aim at the farmers because it had failed to fix the town's infrastructure - including a large crack that caused Ladismith's Le Grange dam to be condemned.

The farmers said their property title deeds entitled them to use water running from the Klein Swartberg range behind the town.

On Thursday, the dispute came to a head when the municipality diverted farmers' irrigation water into a municipal storage dam. It has also asked the national Department of Water and Sanitation to formally restrict farmers' water for the benefit of the town.

The controversial Donson, who was convicted of statutory rape in 2008, accused farmers of keeping water from the people to the extent that Kannaland had to give water to communities and schools.

 

"Regarding land and water in this country, blood is still going to flow. It's a warning to South Africa - the water is still being controlled by the farmers," Donson said.

The Kannaland municipality manages the towns of Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Zoar and Van Wyksdorp. It was the worst-performing municipality in the Western Cape last year and identified by Co-operative Governance Minister Pravin Gordhan as one of the worst in the country.

Crumbling water infrastructure has plagued the area for years. Unusually low winter rainfall last year has left Ladismith and Zoar high and dry - dependent on a trickling mountain stream and borehole water.

Documents seen by the Sunday Times reveal an ongoing, bitter stand-off between municipal officials and local farmers, many of whom are situated closer to the river running down from the Klein Swartberg mountain range.

Municipal officials said the water use clauses in the farmers' title deeds were a "historic agreement" and not in the national interest. In e-mail correspondence, Kannaland municipal manager Morne Hoogbaard referred to a local "Baas/ Klaas mentality".

Municipal officials also accuse farmers of preventing water from flowing to a primary school outside Ladismith with 144 pupils. They claim farmers have inserted illegal aftappings - concealed pipes - to siphon off the school's supply.

Dankoord VGK Primary principal Isaac Hartman said: "The pipe starts up there [pointing to the nearby mountain] so why does it [the water] not reach us down here?"

 

Water Restrictions

The Sunday Times has established that the municipality has applied to the Department of Water and Sanitation to divert farmers' irrigation water into the town's dams for domestic and industrial use. The town's biggest water users are two cheese factories and a winery. The municipality also wants to ban flood irrigation of gardens in the municipal area.

The proposed restrictions were discussed earlier this month at a meeting attended by major stakeholders. Municipal officials and farmer representatives continued discussions this week behind closed doors.

Donson this week confirmed that national government would intervene.

"I've written to the president because in Kannaland most people are black and brown but we are the ones most under pressure," he said.

Farmers this week expressed dismay at the municipality's moves, claiming they were already voluntarily donating their irrigation water to the town.

Hennie Kotze, a Ladismith farmer and chairman of the Klein Swartberg Rivier Water Forum, said farmers were fed up with being ignored by the municipality.

"With all due respect, we get very little co-operation from the municipality. They want the water, but don't want to discuss it with us. If they're not willing to talk to us, we'll take it [the water] back," he said.

Tony Egan, chairman of Kannaland Afriforum, said farmers were being used as a scapegoat by the municipality. He said that much was clear from the aborted water forum, which council officials no longer attended.

The Kannaland crisis has also spilt over into provincial politics, with Donson this week claiming the municipality - run by a coalition of the ANC and the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa - was being victimised by the DA-led provincial government. He said it appeared the province wanted him "to look bad".

But the Western Cape government this week confirmed a R2.1-million allocation to help Kannaland. The money will be used to drill boreholes and pump water to the worst-affected areas .

jordanb@sundaytimes.co.za, corneliusj@timesmedia.co.za

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now