The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has raised concern over the apparent planning misalignment between the Department of Water and Sanitation’s bulk water infrastructure development work and the reticulation work done by municipalities to ensure that communities receive water through the Giyani Bulk Water Project.
The committee raised this during its visit to various sites in the Vhembe and Mopani District Municipalities to assess progress on the project on Tuesday.
The committee acknowledged that extensive work has been done, including the 40.5-kilometre bulk canal transferring untreated water from Nandoni Dam to Nsami Dam, which has been completed.
However, the municipalities’ reticulation connection to households remains a huge challenge.
Committee Chairperson, Robert Mashego, said this points to misalignment of planning, as municipalities should have taken into consideration the envisioned March 2023 completion date and made plans to reticulate the bulk water.
Following the visit to the various sites, Mashego said the committee is of the view that it is unacceptable that communities are yet to benefit directly from the investment made.
He said the committee appreciates that the department has completed the bulk infrastructure development, but called for municipalities to complete their processes.
“It is unacceptable that the people of Homu 14 A have to pay R3.50 for a 21-litre bucket of water from households with boreholes when they were promised water at the end of March 2023. Municipalities must move with speed to complete reticulation work,” Mashego said.
The committee also raised concern over the lack of water tankering services to residents in Mopani District, exacerbating an already dire situation.
The committee heard that the municipality has only three water tankers to serve 93 villages, and called for the solutions to remedy the situation and ensure access to water.
The committee will today interact with stakeholders, including the Department of Water and Sanitation, Lepelle Northern Water and municipalities to hear when they expect the completion of Giyani Bulk Water Project.
“We are focused on ensuring that this project is completed to ensure that the people have access to water, which is a Constitutional right. We will continue with our focused oversight over the project until it is completed,” Mashego said. – SAnews.gov.za
