Water crisis: “Your house is not clean”, says deputy minister

Mr David Mahlobo, the deputy minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, was straight to the point when pinpointing serious issues and problems while visiting the Parys water purification plant on Monday.
His visit came in the wake of numerous public complaints about the quality and quantity of Parys’ drinking water. The situation has reached a critical point with either no water for days on end in certain areas, or brown, muddy water running from the taps.
With a BSc Degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry and a BSc Honours Degree in Biochemistry, Mr Mahlobo, who previously also served as the minister of both Energy and State Security, and Director of Transformation in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, inspected each phase of the plant.
Summarising his findings, he said although those operating the plant know their job, those who make the decisions should be held accountable. “If they don’t make the right decisions, they need to go,” he said.
”The whole problem starts with how you manage the plant. Your house is not clean,” he added when referring to overall maintenance at the plant.
He said the question should be asked if the right number of people with the right skills are at the plant. He was also con- cerned about interns still working as interns after five years.
“Not correctly operating the plant is costing money and water,” he said. “There is no use in spending money on electricity and chemicals if the water that ends up in your taps is not suitable for drinking. Your water frightens people,” the deputy minister said.

Second from left are the Ngwathe Mayor, Joey Mochela, Mr David Mahlobo, the deputy minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation and Mr Phele, responsible for water in the Ngwathe Municipality.

Mr David Mahlobo, the deputy minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, inspecting the Parys Water Purification Works. 

He added that the municipality must decide on what should be done in the short and long term and that pipes and reservoirs must be cleaned.
“You need calibration and telemeters in the system”, he said, adding that there are standard operating issues in terms of mechanical, hydraulic and electrical functioning, that must be followed.
“You must look at you canals and build risk plans around the management of your system.”
“Keep records and manage the main water purification plant and the package plant as a unit,” was his advice.
Regarding the package plant that has been out of operation since December last year, costing the town 10 megalitres of drinking water per day, he said the lack of maintenance was clearly a problem. This, together with some issues in the contract that need to be addressed urgently. He said he wants the package plant to be opera- tional again in two weeks although municipal management estimated the plant only to be back in operation by mid-March.
Lastly, Mr Mahlobo expressed serious concern for the lack of security at the Parys water purification plant, referring to the risk of vandalism and theft. He was also sceptical of test results shown to him that did not reflect the name of the entity that did the testing, and then concluded saying that he would be back to pay a surprise visit to Parys’ waste treatment plant.