- Beaufort West Mayor Thersia Prince has accused the DA of trying to score political points amid the town's water crisis.
- On Tuesday, the DA intervened by distributing water, while its councillors also fixed water pumps at their own expense.
- Beaufort West residents have been left with intermittent water supply as load shedding persists.
Beaufort West Mayor Thersia Prince is at loggerheads with the DA after the party intervened to distribute water to the town's residents.
Beaufort West residents have to live with interrupted water supply as load shedding persists.
On Tuesday, the DA intervened by distributing water. The party's councillors also fixed water pumps at their own expense.
Prince accused the DA of trying to score political points.
"It is very shameful to hear that the DA wants to score political points from the current situation in our country with load shedding and the low water levels at reservoirs which result in low running water and even sometimes dry taps," she told News24 on Wednesday.
Prince said the municipality was doing its utmost best to mitigate the current circumstances.
"As we speak, water is busy being delivered to different households in different areas. The municipality has sufficient water resources to meet the daily demands.
"However, the consequences of load shedding on our borehole infrastructure reduce the ability to supply water sufficiently to meet the demand," she added.
The municipality has decided to place water tanks strategically in areas mostly affected by load shedding.
News24 previously reported the supply of potable water to residents had been interrupted due to load shedding.
The acting municipal manager, Goodwill Nyathi, previously said electricity was used to treat water and pump water from boreholes to reservoirs.
However, he added in the absence of electricity, the water in the reservoirs could not be replenished, resulting in low water pressure and no water in areas that were situated higher than the available pressure.
DA caucus leader in Beaufort West Schaun Meyers said load shedding caused major damage to municipal water infrastructure last year.
"The DA caucus raised the alarm of a coming crisis at a council meeting.
"The DA then requested that solar panels be installed at boreholes to keep them functional during periods of load shedding.
"The coalition government ignored our warning and chose instead to spend money on unnecessary litigation and the employment of cadres," he said.