THE Mopani District Municipality’s water authority has been suspended by water affairs minister Nomvula Mokonyane pending an investigation into millions of rands being allegedly wasted on projects and boreholes that did not even work.
Speaking to the Giyani community last Thursday, Mokonyane said Lepelle Northern Water would take over as water authority while she investigated the cause for the failed boreholes as well as the Nandoni dam project, which had cost the government over R300 million so far.
“It is very painful that somebody would benefit from a tender to provide water services while our people go thirsty, and it is even worse when some official writes a report saying everything is okay,” she said, referring to government officials whom she said had been telling lies about water progress in Giyani and the district as a whole.
“We have therefore communicated with all the stakeholders that we are taking over anything that has to do with water and sanitation in the district. We will ask Lepelle Northern Water to take over with the help of additional capacity from national level,” she said.
“On top of that, we want to audit everything with the name ‘borehole’ on it, the price paid for it, and whether it is working or not,” she continued, saying this should be completed by the second week of September. “We want everybody to account because when people are given a job and they don’t do it, it is the president’s head that’s on the block…and that cannot be allowed to happen,” she said.
The minister’s move comes amid calls from community structures including the ANC Mopani sub-region, that water authority should be given to the local municipalities in order to improve service efficiency. “Minister, let me put it to you that for a few years now Mopani district has been failing to provide the community of Giyani with the much-needed water services it is tasked to provide,” Thom Mkhari, the secretary of the ANC task team in Mopani region, said.
“This is why we have a situation at Nkhensani Hospital where relatives are asked to bring water to help bathe the patients. It is therefore our belief that if water authority could be shifted to local municipalities this problem might be avoided in future,” he said, amid the cheers of residents who were present. Mokonyane apologised for this alleged situation at the hospital, saying a team would be sent to assess the situation.
Mopani District Muni-cipality spokesperson, Neil Shikwambana, had not commented on the matter by the time of going to print, in spite of several calls going unanswered and an SMS being sent.
