Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has reassured the community of Giyani and the country that the Giyani Water Project is still on course as outlined earlier this year.
“We have committed ourselves and we are hard at work to ensure that this project reaches completion and within the set timeframes. We have been very transparent concerning the work that has been taking place and we have been conducting regular oversight visits,” Mchunu said.
Mchunu admitted that the department has experienced hurdles along the way, and the project has experienced major delays due to scope of work changes and added packages.
He said access denial by traditional leaders, including community protests and restrictions on the pipe route from Nandoni to Giyani, poor project management and to an extent, and the weather patterns that delayed work progress by not less than four weeks, hindered progress that would ensure that the bulk pipeline was completed within the allocated time.
“As announced in April, the rest of the remaining work is still on course and the work packages are being implemented simultaneously to ensure that the project is completed on time,” Mchunu said.
Mchunu’s statement comes following misleading information spread by a political party on Giyani water challenges.
Mchunu acknowledged that the project had been marred by serious challenges of poor management and corruption that has led to the loss of billions of rands and the project stalling for several years.
“This has been an eyesore, not only to the residents of that area, but also to us as government and the rest of South Africa,” Mchunu said.
Mchunu said upon the department’s appointment in 2021, and having received a report about the project and its events, Lepelle Northern Water Board was instructed, as the implementing agent, to resume the project and ensure that it is fast-tracked and completed.
He said while the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) conducted its own investigation into the loss of billions of rands that could not be accounted for, the department understood that the people of Giyani could not wait any longer to have access to one of their basic human rights.
On the allegation that there is no accountability on the matter, Mchunu said, the SIU has completed its investigations and have instituted legal action for the repayment of over R 2.3 billion by three former Lepelle Northern Water employees.
“The accusation that the President and I lack accountability does not even arise at all. There are four components to the scheme and each with their own timelines. We will always have timeframes attached to projects and consequently, when we fail to meet those deadlines or when we do indeed succeed in meeting them, we will always take the public into confidence, and we have done exactly that,” Mchunu explained.
Mchunu said the people of Giyani are getting water through various means, via boreholes (as a temporary measure), the old system although intermittently, as the system is currently being refurbished, and via water tankers.
In addition to the four components of the project, the villages in Malamulele West will be receiving water from the Nandoni Water Treatment Works, following the laying of a 26.58 km pipeline; reticulation, which Mopani District Municipality is attending to, which is the only outstanding element.
Work packages
The four work packages of the Giyani Bulk Water Supply Scheme include work package 1, which consists of the construction of the 40.5 km raw bulk pipeline which transfers raw bulk water from Nandoni Dam to Nsami Dam, thereby augmenting raw water from the Middle Letaba Dam.
Mchunu said the water will be treated in the Giyani Water Treatment Works situated in Nsami, into potable water, adding that the bulk water infrastructure project was completed on 5 April 2023.
Work package 2 includes construction of a 325 km pipeline to supply bulk water from Giyani Water Treatment Works to 55 villages from the commanding reservoir in Nsami to the reservoirs that will ultimately supply water to the 55 villages.
Mchunu said the project is currently underway, and 300 km of installations have already been covered and the project is at 63% completion.
He said the third package is in 2 phases, with the first being to refurbish the 30 megalitres a day (ml/d) Giyani Water Treatment Works back to its optimal capacity.
“The water treatment is currently functioning at 17 ml/d and is unable to meet the current demand in the area [and] the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2023. The second phase of this work package is to upgrade the water treatment plant with a further 10 ml/d; this is to ensure that it covers villages that are now being included on the network and will start in the new financial year, April 2024” Mchunu explained.
The project is being implemented by the Mopani District Municipality through the Department of Water and Sanitation Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG).
The fourth and last package is a newly added package into the scope of the project that consists of reticulating the potable water to the 55 villages that have been added into the network to increase the level of services from communal taps to yard connections.
Mchunu said the work package is also divided into two phases and is also being implemented by the Mopani District through the funding from the WSIG.
“Phase 1 of the package consists of reticulation to 24 of the 55 villages; 37 contractors have been appointed and are on site in various villages laying the reticulation pipes. The remaining 31 villages will be part of Phase 2, which will start in the new financial year (April 2024).
“All these work packages are on track, and we anticipate that they will be completed within the set timelines. We know that the people of Giyani have been patient and we continue to plead with them for their patience as we work towards providing them with sustainable, reliable and consistent water supply,” Mchunu said. – SAnews.gov.za
