eThekwini Municipality infrastructure damage reaches R1bil
The estimated cost of infrastructure repairs is R1bil in the eThekwini Municipality, R63mil in iLembe District Municipality and R12mil in uMgungundlovu District Municipality.
AS water outages plague residents across the eThekwini Municipality, The Department of Water and Sanitation has tallied up the cost of damage caused by the recent floods.
On Sunday, April 24, the minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu issued a statement, saying the estimated cost of infrastructure repairs is R1bil in the eThekwini Municipality, R63mil in iLembe District Municipality and R12mil in uMgungundlovu District Municipality.
The main damage was done to the pipeline that supplies raw water to Durban Heights Water Treatment works. The minister said damage to the pipeline resulted in a loss of about 280 megalitres of water in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
ALSO READ: Municipality works against the odds
This has led to reduced water flow to communities across the municipality, however, Mchunu said the Department of Water and Sanitation is working in collaboration with the Executive Mayors in the affected Municipalities to remedy the situation.
“Most of these affected municipalities were already in deficit in terms of their ageing infrastructure. Our approach therefore is to take advantage of this situation to not only repair damaged infrastructure but also to renew these ailing infrastructures. We are making immediate interventions by repairing damaged infrastructure, but at the same time we are embarking on a renewal programme of water and sanitation infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal province”, said Mchunu.
ALSO READ: Mayor announces R9bil water project, residents react
The staggering cost of the damage comes just weeks after the eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda announced the R9bil Water and Sanitation Masterplan to upgrade infrastructure.
On April 4, Kaunda announced that the City would invest R9bil over the next three years for the construction of reservoirs, upgrading of water treatment plants, and the replacement of water mains.
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
