Note to Editors: Please find English and Afrikaans soundbites by Ald Cilliers Brink here, and here
On Saturday my colleague Cllr Themba Fosi, DA Tshwane spokesperson on Utility Services and former MMC for that portfolio, attended the launch of the first phase of the Magalies Water package plant at Klipdrift.
This is the project to get clean water in the taps of Hammanskraal residents, and was set to be delivered in four phases. The first phase was going to be ready at the end of October. It was then postponed to this weekend.
But nothing was launched on Saturday. While the Department of Water and Sanitation has made it clear that Magalies Water has completed the package plant, the City of Tshwane is apparently still to scour pipes and perform repair work to get the water purified at Klipdrift into people’s taps.
This means that there will be yet another delay in getting clean tap water to Hammanskraal residents without an indication of when the work will be completed. This is extremely concerning, since Tshwane had a comprehensive plan to meet its obligations in terms of the Klipdrift project when I left office.
What is more, mayor Nasiphi Moya, who is apparently travelling abroad, was not present on Saturday to give an account of the work Tshwane still needs to do. Her MMC for utility services, Frans Boshielo, was present, but unable to speak with any authority on the project.
As I warned in an op-ed last week, there are two major risks to the Hammanskraal water project. The first risk is that the new ANC-EFF coalition government drops the ball. The second is that vested interests, including those benefitting from water tankers, would rather want the project to fail.
I have written to the city manager of Tshwane, Johann Mettler, to express my concern, and to avail myself and Councillor Fosi, the former MMC for Utility Services, to assist the new government with advice on the management of the project.
