LIMPOPO – She assured them of this during the recent Integrated Development Plan (IDP) consultative meeting.
This comes after more than seven years of waiting for the Nandoni pipeline project to be completed and residents in Giyani began to wonder if the project will ever be completed. The project was commissioned by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, in 2010 in response to Giyani Municipality being declared a water disaster area 2009.
The project encountered many challenges, mainly court cases over the awarding of the implementation tender, the project was handed over to Khato Civils in 2015. During the IDP meeting, several of the residents voiced their impatience with regard to the pace at which the Nandoni pipeline was being implemented.
“We want to know exactly what is happening with regard to the Nandoni pipeline, because there were many contractors that came and went, yet the project is still incomplete,” said Risimati Mabunda one of the residents.
Others complained that the pipeline installed by the first contractor was being removed and replaced by another pipeline which constituted to wasteful expenditure of government funds, and wanted to understand from the mayor what was happening. In response, Mathebula told the community the old pipeline was being removed as it did not comply with the required standard since it contained asbestos which was currently not allowed to distribute water since it posed a health risk.
She assured the community the pipeline construction was progressing well.
“Those who live along the Malamulele road would tell you it’s only a matter of time before it reaches here. Don’t be afraid that the project won’t be completed, even if we were to experience drought in the near future you don’t have to worry because we would get water from Nandoni soon,” Mathebula said.
