Pretoria - A war of words has ensued in the wake of the Hammanskraal cholera crisis.
Political leaders have attacked and blamed each other.
The airborne water disease has claimed 23 lives in the area and health authorities are scrambling to avert the situation.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula visited the area last week, when he blamed the DA for the outbreak.
The party has since taken over the metro as its leader after Cilliers Brink was elected as mayor of the administrative capital.
However, Mbalula said the instability of leadership in the metro was the main failure to govern the capital.
“The DA has been changing mayors like socks – week in and week out. This is what is affecting governance here,” he said.
Mbalula asked how many mayors from the DA had been elected and fired?
He used the visit to pay a courtesy call to the bereaved families.
“The ANC is greatly concerned about the severe impact that the cholera outbreak had on the community of Hammanskraal.
“We however applaud the multi-disciplinary efforts by government and civil society to mitigate against the effects of the outbreak,” Mbalula said.
He conceded that there was more the governing party could have done to avert the disaster.
“Based on the research findings of experts and statements that different technical teams have issued from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Department of Health, and the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Council, it is indeed true that the Hammanskraal community has been experiencing unreliable and poor-quality potable water supply for an extended period.
“The ANC firmly believes that access to clean water is a fundamental element in our lives that deserves our utmost attention.
“The water complexities facing Hammanskraal require a holistic and cross-sectoral approach because water remains essential for human health, food security and environmental sustainability,” Mbalula said.
However, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba has blamed both the DA and the ANC for the ANC in Tshwane for the outbreak, saying that the parties should account for the disaster.
Mashaba was born and raised in Hammanskraal.
“This is a matter that is very close to my heart because I am from there and my mother and family still live there.
“The successive administrations in the capital city, from the ANC to the DA, have failed to resolve the water contamination issue in the area.
“We know this problem comes from the ANC corruption and we are going to go deep into this matter.
“Why the DA gave a contract of R295 million to Edwin Sodi, Blackhead Consulting.
“Honestly, they were R14m more expensive and they had no idea of fixing the water treatment plants,” he said in a radio interview.
Pretoria News