Joint Government water initiative yields positive results for Butterworth community
JOINT GOVERNMENT WATER INITITATIVE YIELDS POSITIVE RESULTS FOR BUTTERWORTH COMMUNITY
In its first joint meeting held at Mnquma Council Chambers, today, 21 February
2020, solutions on what needed to be done to mitigate the situation of no water in
the Butterworth area came under discussion.
In the meeting, the Technical Task Team, which is led by the EC Premier’s Office,
reported that some areas in Butterworth are receiving water and community
leaders corroborated that areas such as Vulli-Valley, Cuba, Extension 24, iBika
and the Madiba Section have indeed confirmed that they are now receiving water,
much to their satisfaction.
The established Mnquma Water Intervention Technical Task Team comprises of
all the stakeholders that have been making inroads in dealing with the water crisis
in the municipality. The stakeholders include the Department of Water and
Sanitation, Amathole District Municipality, Amatola Water, Ministerial National
Rapid Response Task Team as well as Concerned Community Members Local
Businesses, Mnquma Local Municipality,. The Mnquma Water intervention
Technical Task Team’s purpose is to ensure that the issues that are facing the
residents of Butterworth, to a point of them shutting down the town, are speedily
resolved.
Whilst the relief has been greatly received, concerns over areas that are still
without water was also raised. As the technical task team is currently focusing on
Butterworth, it is by no means a matter that says they are forgetting about other
areas in broader Mnquma Local Municipality.
Drought is a major disaster in the Amathole District Municipality, more so in relation
to the total economic loss and number of people that continue to be affected.
The condition has gone further to seriously impact on both poor rural villagers and
business owners in the area.
While summer rains are currently experienced with frequency, it is a known fact
that once the dry season approaches, the sad reality is that it will likely yield the
lowest to no rain at all. Communities were further urged to also harvest water as
much as possible as a contingency measure for when the dry season approaches.
Prepared & issued by the Mnquma Drought Intervention Technical Task Team
Department of Water & Sanitation: Portia Makhanya : 083 782 9916 | ADM: Sisa
Soga-Msiwa 079 889 4921 | Amatola Water Board: Nosisa Sogayise 083 357 7953
www.amathole.gov.za www.amatolawater.co.za www.ecprov.gov.za
www.dwa.gov.za www.gcis.gov.za www.mnquma.gov.za
