Scopa does oversight at water projects
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has reassured the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) that it is fast-tracking intervention measures in Giyani to resolve the long-standing water challenges in the area.
Acting Director-general, Xolani Zwane, was speaking during the oversight visit by Scopa to assess the state of water projects in Giyani. Scopa was accompanied by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) and officials from the office of the Auditor-General. Zwane acknowledged that there have been delays in resolving water issues in Giyani villages and said the delays could have been avoided had things been done according to the book from the onset.
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Zwane said the department, together with its entity, Lepelle Northern Water, is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies to bring to book those that have been found to be involved in the maleficence that has deprived the people of Giyani of basic water service. “With the intervention of the minister, Senzo Mchunu, we are beginning to see progress in our intervention projects and finally we can even talk of milestones at this point in time. However, for as long as people are still without water, we have got our work cut out to resolve this as a matter of urgency,” Zwane emphasised.
DWS’ Limpopo provincial head, Lucy Kobe presented Scopa with the amount of work done to date and made an undertaking that the 40km raw water pipeline from Nandoni to Nsami Dam will be finalised at the end of April. The pipeline will deliver water to the Giyani Water Treatment Plant to augment water deficiencies in Giyani. “We are happy to announce that the work on the pipeline is at 71% currently. The 40 km pipeline is completed, and the remaining work is the river crossings, chambers, and pressure testing which is now
at 26 km.
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Temporary connections on river crossings are done to functionalise the system by mid-April 2023, whilst construction of permanent structures is in progress. Installation of raw water pumps is in progress, to be completed on April 30. Mobile pumps are provided to fill the pipeline and test the system whilst installation of permanent pumps is in progress,” Kobe said. Meanwhile, the refurbishment of the 30 ml/d Giyani Water Treatment Plant is underway to make it function optimally. The plant currently treats only 17 ml/d from Middle Letaba Dam and does not meet the water demands of the villages. The refurbishment of the plant is expected to be completed in December this year.
Upon completion, work to increase the capacity of the plant by 10 ml/d to 40 ml/d is set to commence in April 2024 for a duration of 24 months. Joined by Lepelle Northern Water as the implementing agent and Mopani District Municipality, DWS led the committee on various site visits along the NandoniNsami pipeline – starting from Nandoni Dam as the source, with stops along the way including at Xikukwani village where the bulk raw water pipeline ends and connect to the pipe and water canal coming from Middle Letaba.
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The entourage then proceeded to Mbabeni, Ngove, and Homu villages where a contractor has been appointed in December and work has already started to lay pipes for the new project introduced by Mchunu to deal with reticulation, as part of his intervention to fast-track the project to ensure that people get water in their households as soon as possible. The department is assisting the district municipality to expedite the reticulation to ensure that when the project is complete, all identified villages receive water in their homes.
