Limpopo residents have waited for more than 28 years for water

A partnership between the department of water and sanitation and the private sector to thwart the chronic water shortages in the agricultural and mining region of Sekhukhune in Limpopo is being deemed by some as a wasteful expenditure and a total waste of time.

Intervention

Tomorrow, Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu and Lebalelo Water User Association will be in the region to launch a water project aimed at improving water provision for the region’s 1.2 million people.

Sekhukhune is one of the drought-stricken regions in Limpopo. The region has 28 mining houses that play an important role in the local and provincial economy.

Sekhukhune poorest regions in SA

During his visit in 2002, former president Thabo Mbeki declared Sekhukhune as one of the poorest regions in the country. Mbeki called on government to unleash resources to change the lives of locals for the better.

The department of water and sanitation (DWS) said yesterday Mchunu will be joined by the association’s chief executive officer, Bertus Bierman. It said the multibillion-rand Olifants Management Model (OMM) project was aimed at enhancing the delivery of water provision in Sekhukhune, Waterberg and the Capricorn region.

Collaboration

The programme is a collaboration between commercial water users, represented by the Lebalelo Water User Association, and government, said departmental spokesperson Sputnik Ratau.

“It aims to improve socioeconomic growth through the cost-effective provision of potable water for domestic use and bulk raw water for economic activities, including mining.

“Mchunu will start his visit with a sod-turning at Steelpoort, outside Burgersfort, and the visit will culminate in a community engagement in Ga-Malekana Tribal Authority outside Jane Furse in Sekhukhune,” said Ratau.

But many residents, who have been waiting for water to be reticulated into their houses, do not buy Mchunu’s intervention.

Those living adjacent to the Limpopo’s biggest and most expensive dam, De Hoop Dam, branded the launch another election gimmick for the ANC ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Empty promises

“I think this is just wasteful expenditure and a waste of time,” said a resident, Evans Mabowa of Ga-Malekana village, where Mchunu is visiting.

Mabowa said he has been living in the village for more than 28 years waiting for water which the ANC promised in 1994, before the first general elections.

“This village is about seven kilometres away from the dam. Pipes for bulk water pass through this village to Polokwane while we don’t have even a drop to drink. Why would I then believe Mchunu will change our lives for the better?” asked Mabowa.

Sunnyboy Maseko of Leeuwfontein said the project would benefit a few politicians ahead of the 2024 elections, rather than local communities.

Maseko alleged there would be fronting.

“Companies will be appointed. The job will be done but this will be shoddy work.

“Millions of rands will be paid but all that money will go to their pockets, leaving residents high and dry,” he said.

Seun Mogotji, general secretary of the Bolsheviks Party of South Africa, said: “Re tlare ke dipitsi re bona ka mebala [a Sepedi expression meaning ‘we will only believe when we see’].

“It is hard to trust ANC leaders these days,” he claimed.

“Look at the R143 Drought Relief project in Ntoane, outside Dennilton.

“Former DWS Minister Lindiwe Sisulu came here and made promises. But three years down the line, we still go to rivers, wells and fountains to fetch water,” he said.

Chair for the Giyani Business Forum Patrick Ritshuri said although there was progress in the Presidential Giyani Bulk Water project in the Mopani region, the 55 intended communities were still waiting for water provision with bated breath.

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