Residents unhappy with government’s visit to Ugu
Another resident told panelists that Ugu only provides muddy and dirty water without guilt or explanation.
The government only visited the Ugu District with the Taking Parliament to the People (TPTTP) programme by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) just because the 2024 national government elections are around the corner.
This was a sentiment shared by different residents at the Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre during the public hearing on water and sanitation and delivery of basic services session of the TPTTP programme.
Disgruntled Ward 32 residents in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality told panelists such as Minister of Water and Sanitation – Senzo Mchunu, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) – Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Ugu District Municipality mayor Phumlile Mthiyane that the last time they had water was the day of the 2021 local government elections.
“The last time we had consistent water supply in Ward 32 was in 2012. The second time we had water was for three days in November 2021. The day before the local government elections, the day of the elections and the day after the elections. Since then we have been struggling. We have seen that it is not that Ugu can’t provide us with water, they can but we just do not know why they are not doing so. We want to know what must we do as Ward 32 residents to get water,” said the resident.
Another resident told panelists that Ugu only provides muddy and dirty water without guilt or explanation.
KZN Premier, Dube-Ncube said the Ugu District is persistently plagued by water supply interruptions which are caused by burst pipes, leaks, vandalism, illegal connections, low pressure, pump failures and load shedding among other things.
She said the provincial government and the national Department of Water and Sanitation have established a water war room which convenes daily to respond to the water challenges in a sustainable manner.
“The war room has put a turnaround plan in place which include replacing old pipelines and Equipment through Water Services Infrastructure Grant and the Municipal Infrastructure Grants. Some areas are complete and some are budgeted in the 2022/2024 financial year. There is insufficient funding available to attend to all areas simultaneously. There are planned major bulk projects such as the Vulamehlo Cross-Border Water Supply Scheme (R1.1 billion) and the Harding-Weza Water Supply Scheme (R1.3 billion),” she said, adding that the war room identified a further two projects which still need the full engineering spectrum and legal and regulatory processes to be compiled for RBIG Funding application.
The chairperson of the NCOP, Amos Masondo, said the TPTTP programme was initiated in 2002 to assist the NCOP to facilitate public involvement in legislative and other processes.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Fever’s Facebook page
