KOSTER - The municipal services will be restored in the Kgetlengrivier municipality in North West, the municipality said on Tuesday.
"The municipality is [also] happy to confirm that services will resume and operations will be back to normal with effect from Wednesday, June, 6 2018. Water will be supplied through tankers around Koster and affected areas," said municipal manager Joseph Mogale.
"We acknowledge that there were water supply interruption and issues with water quality after realisation that there was intrusion at the water pump station during the protests which in turn affected water supply to our communities. The management therefore engaged Magalies Water board as the bulk water supplier and was only informed today [Tuesday]that the water was not safe for human consumption."
He said the management and council were happy with the developments on the engagements with the community representatives after the protests which affected service delivery.
The small farming town west of Rustenburg was shutdown on May 23. Residents of nearby Reagile went on a rampage demanding access to basic service delivery.
Kgetlengrivier Mayor Kim Medupe's house, her guesthouse and another building she owns were torched. A councillor's house , a supermarket and several cars were also set alight in Reagile.
The protest spread to Derby where a truck and a car were torched on the R30 road linking Rustenburg and Ventersdorp.
Thirty-one people were arrested and released on a R1000 bail each, they were expected to appear in the Koster Magistrate's Court on June 28.
Mogale said the municipality has noted with concern negative media statement from the Democratic Alliance with wrongful accusations leveled against the municipality.
DA councillor in Kgetlengrivier Cobus Snyman, issued a statement on May 31, that the frustration of residents also stems from poor management under the ANC-led council.
"This includes appointments of the Municipal Manager and the Chief Financial Officer who were hired without the necessary experience. Service delivery has completely collapsed and this was confirmed by the 2016/2017 Auditor General report," Synman said.
Mogale said for the past two financial years, the municipality had received unqualified audit opinion.
"Management has developed an audit improvement action plan to deal with matters of emphasis wherein we will work closely with the auditor general towards attaining improved audit outcomes," Mogale said.
"In as much as we are municipalities that need serious intervention, so far there has not been formal communication by the provincial government. As the municipality we welcome the intervention by the national government and our cooperation will surely make an impact in service provision."
He said the necessary recruitment process was followed in appointing senior managers in line with relevant regulations and it was unfortunate for the DA to allege that the appointed managers were inexperienced.
He said the municipality has made necessary arrangement with Eskom to settle its electricity debt and would fully meet agreement terms without fail.