Mashaba calls for arrests of people involved in Giyani Water Bulk project
ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, has called on the government to arrest, prosecute and convict all officials and ‘tenderpreneurs’ who are involved in the Giyani Bulk Water Project scandal.
Mashaba was speaking during a recent visit to the Nsami Water Plant, the Department of Water and Sanitation’s water storage facility, and the Tomo Clinic. The water project was started in 2014 under former President Jacob Zuma and former Water and Sanitation minister, Nomvula Mokonyane. Between 2014 and 2022, the costs of the project skyrocketed from R502 million to R4.5 billion. The project was intended to ease the transfer of water from Nandoni Dam to benefit 55 villages.
Also read: Ramaphosa inspects Nandoni Water Project
It was never completed due to alleged corruption and during a visit to Giyani in December last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that R3 billion disappeared from the project. Mashaba, together with the party’s provincial chairperson, Sello Lediga, interacted with residents of Tomo who explained how the lack of water impacts them. One anonymous villager told Mashaba that they hardly ever get service from the clinic as the taps are dry and nurses are not able to work without water.
Also read: Corruption the reason for Giyani’s water delays
On Tuesday, January 24, ActionSA wrote a letter to the minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, demanding to know when the people behind the missing funds will be arrested. Some of the party’s demands included reasons for the delay in arrests and plans to recover the missing funds. Mashaba has given the minister seven days to respond. Last year, Mchunu said that the project would be finished by August, but was postponed to September, and when the deadline was not met, the department postponed it to March this year.
Also read: September deadline for bulk water will be met
“Empty promises will not work. In fact, empty promises are all that the people of Giyani have been getting from the government. This is an unacceptable state of affairs where an uncaring government is not moving quickly enough to better the lives of the people it claims to serve. The right to water is not a favour from the government,” he said. At the time of going to press, the party had not yet received any response from the minister’s office.
