Scores of irate stakeholders and interested parties were this week belatedly invited to meet Mchunu at the Emerald Resort and Casino in Vanderbijlpark today – after a threatened boycott against original government plans to meet at Gallagher Estates in Sandton.

“What was Mchunu expecting – that we take the Vaal River to him in Midrand?” said an offended Klippies Kritzinger, CEO of the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC).

Kritzinger issued the “Speedo Challenge” after it became obvious the newly appointed Minister had no intention of either visiting the Vaal of his own volition or kick-starting the R7 billion plus clean-up project started by his predecessor, now Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

Mchunu was not expected to take up the Speedo Challenge, said reliable sources in his Ministry, but would possibly be open to taking a luxury Vaal River cruise, miraculously still on offer.

“Mchunu is fiddling as pollution levels again rise – but of course we know he really fears facing voters in still-stinking townships and suburbs drowning in sewage.

“Or maybe he waited for the first rains to first freshen up what he and his incompetent and negligent Department of Water and Sanitation should have fixed already,” said Kritzinger.

Mchunu and senior Water and Sanitation officials – accused of neglecting the R7 Billion plus Vaal River sewage pollution project – can thus expect the full ire of stakeholders firmly convinced the project is already again mired in corruption and bureaucratic in-fighting.

“New and old officials are now clearly fighting over this huge project and specifically over who and where contracts to do the work should be issued – yet they are ignoring Vaal contractors and that is a sure sign that massive corruption and over-invoicing to selected service providers is taking place,” said Kritzinger.