Sisulu slammed for scapegoating Lepelle Northern Water

A damning letter from Human Settlements, Water & Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu asking Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) why the R140 million Limpopo drought relief project stalled, was slammed as a move to brand LNW as a “scapegoat”.

Sisulu wants tangible reasons why the community is still without clean water – but LNW yesterday insisted “the project was now at 80% completion”.

The project was launched in February last year at a cost of R143 million to provide the residents of Moutse, outside Groblersdal, with adequate clean water and for the prevention of the spread of Covid-19.

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Plans involved drilling new boreholes and refurbishing old ones, to deliver JoJo tanks and provide 20 water tankers to fill up the tanks.

The minister learnt last month that the deadline for the project has been extended more than once; residents still compete for dirty water with wild animals in fountains and rivers; and water tankers had not been transferred to the municipality.

Only 10 of the 20 water tankers had been delivered, but are gathering dust at municipal offices instead of being used. JoJo tanks had also been broken and were no longer durable.

But LNW yesterday the told The Citizen the overall progress on the project was on track.

“Ownership of 13 of the 20 tankers was transferred to the district municipality and registration of the remaining seven is underway,” said LNW spokesperson, Yolande Nel.

“A total of 1 690 tank stands were also constructed and tanks installed and the remaining work on the borehole refurbishment and source development was under way.”

Nel said processes to finalise the registration of the remaining seven tankers were on track. A total of 1 700 JoJo tanks had been delivered and the remaining 300 would be delivered before the end of May, she claimed.

“Of the total R143 million budget, we were able to spend R80 million. About R63 million is yet to be transferred to LNW by the department.

“We can further confirm that we have received a letter from the minister on 9 March and responses were provided to the minister’s office the next day.

“If all goes according to plan, some of the components of the work on the project would be completed by the end of May, while extension of time for other components was currently under consideration.

“But due to delays in cash flow, a realistic completion date will be determined on receipt of the remaining R63 million,” added Nel.

The demand by the minister for answers was slammed as an attempt to brand LNW a “scapegoat”, said Seun Mogotji, acting general secretary for the Bolsheviks Political Party of South Africa.

“We are baffled that Minister Sisulu is demanding answers from Lepelle alone. The same questions must be extended to the service provider.

“This is the service provider who failed on a similar project in Qwaqwa in the Free State province last year,” said Mogotji yesterday.

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