Rhodes University in Makhanda on Friday suspended most of its academic programme after a prolonged municipal water outage posed a risk to student and staff health and hygiene.
Most of the small city has suffered a seven-day long water outage as well as frequent electricity outages due to industrial action by municipal staff who are demanding money for overtime in July.
The incapable municipality is so broke it requested staff who worked overtime in July to take time off in lieu of being paid.
This is what triggered the industrial action and worsened the already poor service delivery in Makhanda.
Rhodes vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela said reports suggested a connection between the current crisis to potential sabotage as part of the industrial action.
Rhodes is the city’s biggest employer and ratepayer.
Though accustomed to water disruptions, this prolonged outage has hit the small city hard.
Apart from a general population of about 80,000, Makhanda is home to a large army base, a prison, several boarding schools, and busy regional magistrate’s and high courts.
All have been negatively affected with some staff in the magistrate’s court reportedly downing tools because of the unsanitary situation there.
Rhodes has a student base of 9,000, half of whom live in the university’s 51 residences on campus.
Mabizela on Friday expressed serious concern over the outages and the negative impact on students, staff, visitors and the academic programme.
He said the university had been providing water via tankers to its kitchens, residences, academic buildings, and offices for seven days.
“Despite all these efforts, individual hygiene, health, and study conditions are affected and are increasingly at risk,” Mabizela said.
The university would be forced in future to strengthen its self-sufficiency in the face of this poor service delivery.
“The situation in Makhanda has begun to reflect an apparent disregard for our students and staff’s dignity, wellbeing, and rights.
“The university has escalated this matter to the Office of the Premier, Mr Oscar Mabuyane.”
He called for firm leadership intervention and urgent dispute resolution between the municipality and its employees.
But, the DA says firm leadership is starkly absent.
Over seven days, the municipality has declined to formally inform residents on the situation or on what was being done to resolve it.
It has failed to respond to requests for comment.
Municipal manager Pumelelo Kate and mayor Yandiswa Vara’s failure to communicate “showed how little they cared for the people of Makana”, said DA councillor Cary Clark.
She has consistently sought clarity on the matter from those in charge.
DA Frontier constituency leader Jane Cowley said the municipality, which has reneged on its payment plan, faced spiralling debt to Eskom.
It now had to pay the electricity provider about R58m by the end of August.
And while its debts increase, less and less people seem inclined to pay for the services they say they are not getting. Its collection rate has dropped to 52%.
The municipality also received a damning audit disclaimer from the auditor-general at the end of the 2022/2023 financial year.
While the municipality has yet to make a formal statement, Kate on Thursday evening told Talk of the Town editor Sue Maclennan the issue of overtime had not been resolved.
He confirmed the municipality did not have the financial means to pay for the overtime.
He said staff had not declared a formal dispute.
He said they were coming to work but not carrying out any operations outside normal hours.
“We know there are those who may be on a go-slow, but if a person’s job is usually done during normal working hours they are required to do it.”
He warned there would “definitely be disciplinary action for staff preventing the carrying out of essential tasks”.
At the time of writing, Rhodes students and staff were gathering to march on the municipality.
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.