Ladysmith water crisis forces school to close as outage enters third week

A school in Ladysmith has been forced to close due to a water outage that has been ongoing for three weeks, prompting the Democratic Alliance (DA) to call for urgent action. The water crisis began on August 7 and continues to impact areas such as Steadville and Acaciaville, according to the DA. Ladysmith Secondary School informed parents on August 20 that it had ceased operations due to unhygienic conditions resulting from the lack of water.

The Department of Labour closed the school, with Grade 12 learners attending limited classes while the rest of the institution remains shut. Councillor Thys Janse van Rensburg, the DA's uThukela chairperson, attributes the crisis to years of underperformance by the IFP-led administration and criticizes the municipality, alleging it loses 65% of its water and has spent over R1.3 billion on unauthorized, irregular, futile, and wasteful expenditure.

Janse van Rensburg emphasized that residents cannot endure such conditions, and the DA has filed a lawsuit in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, requesting the court to compel the municipality to restore water services, place it under proper administration, and ensure judicial oversight. The DA also plans to use the November 4 local government elections as an opportunity for residents to elect change, pledging their commitment to fixing water infrastructure, combating corruption, and ensuring that public funds are allocated to services rather than wasted.

Janse van Rensburg stressed that the people of uThukela deserve basic services and access to water and dignity, and the DA will continue fighting until these needs are met.