Residents of KwaMaqoma, formerly Fort Beaufort, in South Africa's Eastern Cape are facing long water cuts, blocked toilets and sewage in the streets while an upgrade of the town's water treatment works runs months behind schedule, GroundUp reports in the Daily Maverick.
The water and sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina, told parliament last year that R150m had been set aside to refurbish the works by June 2027 and lift capacity to 15 million litres a day. A shorter-term R22m project was due to finish in June 2026, but residents said taps were still sometimes dry for weeks.
Majodina said demand had outgrown the plant, which can treat 6.5 million litres a day, and that household leaks made shortages worse. The district municipality found 1,059 of 1,282 homes it assessed needed repairs, and some rural villages remain without water.
Source: Daily Maverick
