LIMPOPO – MOPANI mayor, Nkakareng Rakgoale, appealed to residents in the Mopani district to be patient while the municipality addresses water challenges in the district.
Speaking with Giyani residents during an IDP draft consultative meeting which was held at Giyani community hall recently, Rakgoale said the district was busy fixing the old pipelines, which prevented some communities from accessing water.
“Some of you may know that we were under administration in the province, which means that in the period of that administration, a huge backlog was created in many service areas,” she explained.
“However, we are dealing with the situation, especially on the issue of water.
“All of you will soon have access to water, just be patient with us a little bit while we fix the water infrastructure,” she said, adding that the district was aware of some unfinished boreholes in some villages in the district.
“Our team will assess all of them and see what can be done to ensure they are functional.”
During the meeting, several speakers congratulated the municipality on the progress of water challenges in their areas since the launch of the water upgrade programme last year by president Jacob Zuma and water and sanitation minister, Nomvula Mokonyane.
“While we understand that as a community we still have more needs such as tarred roads and other needs, we would like to compliment the district municipality for what it has done so far,” Nora Mthombheni told the mayor, adding that for the first time since 2012, they had running water in Hlomela village.
Several residents of Xitlakati village also said they had water in their village for the first time in many years.
“It was a long time since we had running water, before 1994, if I’m not mistaken,” George Mkhari said, thanking the mayor for making this possible.
Rakgoale further assured the community of Giyani that the district was working on ensuring they all had access to water.
“While we understand that water itself is a challenge in Giyani, I promise you that after the completion of the Nandoni project, which is currently on hold due to some challenges that the department is working on, every village in Giyani will have access to water,” she said.
