PHUTI MOSOMANE
THE Department of Water and Sanitation’s lack of alignment with municipalities in Limpopo has caused a delay in providing water to 55 villages in Vhembe and Mopani district municipalities, according to Robert Mashego, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, during his visit to the area.
“We are concerned by the apparent planning misalignment between the Department of Water and Sanitations’ bulk water infrastructure development work and municipalities’ reticulation work of ensuring that communities receive water through the Giyani Bulk Water project,” said Mashego.
On Tuesday, the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation visited several sites in Vhembe and Mopani District Municipality to assess the progress of the Giyani Water Project.
The committee recognized the significant progress made so far, including the completion of the 40.5-km bulk canal, which transfers untreated water from Nandoni Dam to Nsami Dam. However, the committee observed that the connection of households to the municipalities’ reticulation system remains a major challenge.
“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,” said Mashego.
The committee expressed its disappointment that communities are yet to benefit directly from the massive investment made in the Giyani Water project.
Despite the Department of Water and Sanitation completing the bulk infrastructure development, the committee urged municipalities to speed up their processes to complete reticulation work, saying that it is unacceptable for communities to pay R3.50 for a 21-liter bucket of water from households with boreholes when they were promised water at the end of March 2023.
The committee also expressed concern over the lack of water tankering services to residents in Mopani District, with only three water tankers serving 93 villages.
The committee called for solutions to remedy the situation and ensure access to water.
On Wednesday, the committee engaged with various stakeholders, including the Department of Water and Sanitation, Lepelle Northern Water, and municipalities, to hear when they expect the project to be completed.
Mashego reiterated that the committee’s focus is to ensure that the project is completed to provide people with access to water, which is their constitutional right, and the committee will continue with its oversight over the project until completion.
“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 added.
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