RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - “Did you have water last night?”, “Was your electricity also off this weekend?”, “Did you see that huge pothole in Joubert Street?” “They dug another hole and didn’t fill it up.”
Residents of the Platinum City are fed up. They have had enough. In recent weeks, statements like the above, seemed to be daily conversation starters, along with the scorching weather, school exams and the coming festive season. Local WhatsApp service groups have been inundated with complaints of no water, no electricity, blocked drains, broken streetlights, exposed manholes... the list is endless.
Frustrated residents - including employees at the offices of the Rustenburg Herald - want answers and are up in arms as to why they are not receiving the basic services they are paying for. When it is 38ºC and you are not able to switch on a fan, you are bound to get hot - and not just under the collar. When your child is writing two difficult exam papers the next day and they have to squint, studying at candlelight, does that not exacerbate the stress and pressure they are already under? When you are a concerned neighbour, driving around local streets to give feedback on your WhatsApp service group (as there is no communication from the municipality) is it defensible that you drive through an obscure hole in the middle of the street and damage your private vehicle’s tires?
So the stories over the last few weeks have filled the passageways in offices, parking areas and supermarkets as frustrated community members air their concerns to each other - as the Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM) does not communicate, does not act swiftly enough and dare we say - does not care? Where does it all end?
More so, when members of the local South African Police Service are part of the problem. In response to a Facebook post by a local land owner in an extension of Zendeling Street about officers of SAPS illegally dumping and starting open fires on their private property, Rustenburg Herald received this response from Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone, North West SAPS spokesperson: “The police were disposing of old and damaged wooden furniture. They decided to burn them in order to have proof of disposal. Due to some community members taking photographs and disturbing the process, the members went back to the station to complete the disposal.” The mind boggles.
On 5 November, the following message was sent on local WhatsApp service groups: “Dear Residents, Rustenburg is currently on stage 1 in terms of water restrictions. We are not allowed to use sprayer systems on our lawn, nor fill swimming pools. If you have a borehole - please put a sign on your gate to state such. RLM is going to issue fines if we do not adhere to the rules.” Then, on the same group, just a few days later, a resident posted the following: “Here in Vink Street the water has been gushing for three days and thousands of litres of water is wasted. It was fixed last night, but not long after, the water was gushing out again and it still is. I have reported it so many times and I receive NO feedback.” RLM, practice what you preach - as the saying goes.
In all fairness, a message was broadcast by RLM on Monday on Facebook and local WhatsApp groups announcing “Breaking News” of the first ever virtual public participation meeting (Mayoral Imbizo) for Wards 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 42 on 13 November on Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 347 768 651 649, Passcode: SPfGDb). Quickly, comments from community members were posted: “What if there is no electricity?”, “People don’t have data, it is a way to minimise public participation.” and “No need for meetings they already know the crisis of communities.” On Tuesday, the notice was amended to state that it would be a hybrid meeting, both on Microsoft Team and at the Old Town Hall. Too little, too late, perhaps?
In official feedback received from Odirile Madiba, Acting Communications Manager of RLM on questions sent by Rustenburg Herald, Madiba conceded that communication was the Achilles heel of RLM - especially in regard to planned outages and interruptions. Why is it the case that these notices are only issued on the day of (after the cut has already been affected) and not the day before? “We have noticed that our notices are not consistent and most of the times they are very delayed. That is lack of communication on our side and we are aware that it is affecting our residents because they cannot prepare properly. We will convene a meeting with all the relevant units, especially those that are service delivery driven, so that we are able to coordinate all of this,” was Madiba’s undertaking.
In the meantime, a message from Advocate RC Marakalla in Sandton was forwarded on local social media groups wherein he requested of “concerned residents regarding power failure and water crisis” to note his contact details and to communicate with him if the situation does not improve. “I intend to request a virtual meeting with the MM and Infrastructure Department regarding their dereliction of duty of services, which are constitutionally protected and guaranteed. If the meeting request fails, we can do a petition by all affected residents, and I can take RLM to court to hold people accountable.”
It goes without saying that sometimes water pipes burst unexpectedly, and electricity substations are vandalised and of course all South Africans realise that we are in the midst of a national drought and water crises. However, the last few weeks seem to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Promises have been made, threats have been flung around and community meetings have been scheduled. Will it make a difference? Only time will tell. Contact details for the offices of Advocate Marakalla: 076 013 9324 or 010 0070 550 or email
*Every day it’s either water or electricity. RLM has to start focusing on maintenance and repairs.
* This is definitely not load reduction! Why does it affect Rustenburg only? Gauteng doesn’t have this madness!
* RLM is incompetent and why does it always have to occur after hours?
* I don’t think the people doing the work are qualified. They have been failing fixing both the robots and electrical cuts for years.
* Apologies [are] not excepted anymore. Do your work and make sure it stays on.
* They just end up ignoring us like always.
* They just don’t answer the phones.
* When are we striking again guys? That’s the only solution at this point.
* The municipality is switching off our power at their own convenience... It is just statistically impossible to have the same electrical problems every night at approximately the same time... Five nights in a row now...
* No one has power, but the [RLM offices] look like Sun City. (See photo on the front page of this week’s Herald’s Bonus)
* Can someone please tell these guys that we don’t accept apologies for the inconvenience? Every day this week we have been without power for two or more hours. If it’s overloading, why does the department of housing [allow] more complexes/housing [to be] build in this area if infrastructure doesn’t allow it?
* Always Waterval East. This can’t continue like this. They [are] busy ruining our area!!!
* It appears that RLM’s inadequate infrastructure has led to indirect load shedding, impacting us daily due to faulty cables. We demand transparency regarding the root cause. What measures has RLM implemented to address and prevent these daily outages?
* They just patch things up quickly, they’ll never permanently fix the problem. Someone is benefiting and we must suffer.
* If we strike, we will be arrested. If we don’t pay, services will be withheld. Basically, we can’t do anything but put up with this and suffer.
* They are playing us and take us for fools... Since Saturday (2/10/2024) we are experiencing power failures... Now we must just shut up [and] sit quiet in our corner for updates... What updates? When are we going to say, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
* I’m a SASSA pensioner and with these power [outages] the little food I have, has to be thrown away.
