SCHOEMANSDAL – In keeping in line with the Mpumalanga premier Mr David Mabuza’s call to speed up services and to prioritise the provision of water, the Nkomazi Municipality has set aside more than R70 million for the subregion.
“One of the critical infrastructure challenges identified was water services infrastructure. As a municipality we have vowed to wage a relentless war on this challenge until every community in Nkomazi has sustainable access to clean water.
We have accordingly appropriated R20 million for the Mangweni Bulk Supply and Reticulation Project.
We are also apportioning R17 million for the upgrading of the Nyathi Scheme, R14 million for the Shongwe Hospital Bulk Supply, R13 million for the Louville Water Treatment Plant as well as R12 million for the langeloop Water Reticulation,” said Cllr Thulisile Khoza when tabling her budget speech on Monday at the Schoemansdal Community Hall.
“The above commitments as well as several others that we have not mentioned in the interest of time, reflect a determined attitude towards the sustainable eradication of water-services challenges in Nkomazi,” she added.
This subregion has seen a number of service-delivery protests, with lack of water topping the list of grievances, but Khoza was adamant they would win the war.
Another top priority for the local municipality is speeding up road construction and maintenance, for which about R60 million was set aside.
“Access to public transport and proper road infrastructure continues to be a focus area that we consider as central to socio-economic development.
“During many of our engagements with the public, the issue of public roads continues to surface as one of the important tasks that we need to address.
We will therefore in the current budget be apportioning R21 million for the Driekoppies Bus Route, R18 million for the Mafambisa Bus Route, R9 million for the Nkungwini Bus Route, R7 million for the KaMhlushwa MB to Taxi Rank Bus Route as well as R5 million for the Boschfontein Bus Route.”