Thohoyandou - Chairman of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Johannes Mahlangu, has urged government to urgently replace a pipeline that has left communities around Limpopo's Vhembe district without water.
Mahlangu was speaking at Nandoni Dam in Ha-Mutoti village outside Thohoyandou while visiting the area as part of a national drive to address service delivery challenges across the country.
"We want our poor communities to get clean water from the Nandoni Dam as it is filled to capacity. Water is a basic need to the community and we urge the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs to address that need," said Mahlangu.
Mahlangu said the NCOP found that the pipeline that was installed in the area five years ago needed to be replaced.
He said he and the NCOP members would inform Water and Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa about the Nandoni Dam situation, which he said should be treated as a matter of urgency.
He added that the NCOP had also learned that the water problem was affecting Tshilidzini Hospital near Thohoyandou.
"We are also worried that Tshilidzini Hospital has experienced shortages of water while the staff is complaining about the hospital's dilapidated buildings," he added.
The department's provincial chief director, Alson Matukane, said the department was in the process of addressing the pipeline problem.
"We are going to replace the dysfunctional water pipes that connect to Nandoni Dam as we have been given more than R700 million by National Treasury. We promised that by the end of March 2012, communities around the dam will get clean water," said Matukane.
Lawrence Madavha, who lives a kilometre from Nandoni Dam, told NCOP members that life was hard for communities in the area.
"We are forced to wake up at about 11pm to get water from the taps because they run dry in the morning. We are worried that we reside next to the Nandoni Dam which is full of water while we cannot get them. We are optimistic that the NCOP visit will help to bring necessary changes to better our lives," said Madavha.
The NCOP's visit continues in Musina today and is expected to be wrapped up at the Limpopo parliamentary village in Lebowakgomo on Friday. - BuaNews
