Johannesburg - The Moretele municipality is responsible for the disruption of water supply in the Ngobi village, North West premier Thandi Modise said on Sunday.
“Though the two-day disruption of water supply should have been reported sooner and escalated for prompt intervention, someone within the municipality’s technical section should take responsibility for dereliction of duty,” she said in a statement.
A team from the department of performance monitoring and evaluation and Modise's office would visit the village and municipality on Monday to ensure the disruption would not reoccur.
President Jacob Zuma visited the village in June to launch the Ngobi water project. This was in response to an e-mail by a resident asking him to solve the area's two-year-long water problem.
“We are bringing water. It takes one person to make things happen,” he said at the time.
As a result of the e-mail, a reservoir and 11 boreholes were constructed in the village. Modise said 10 additional bore holes were recently dug.
The City Press reported on Sunday that the village's water supply was cut a month after Zuma's visit. It was only restored after another newspaper reported on the failed water project.
An unnamed councillor told the City Press the municipality had a cash-flow crisis. It reportedly told Parliament in January it owed the City of Tshwane R91.5 million for water provision. - Sapa