Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has assured the community members of Giyani that the Giyani Water Supply Scheme is currently on course and there will be water in the area.

Mchunu made the commitment during his visit to Giyani to witness the progress of the construction of raw water bulk water pipeline from Nandoni Dam to augment Nsami and Middle Letaba.

The raw water bulk supply pipeline was promised to the people of Giyani a long time ago, however it has never taken off ground despite funds being made available for the project.

The project is led by the Department of Water and Sanitation, through Lepelle Northern Water.

Accompanied by his Deputy Ministers, David Mahlobo and Dikeledi Magadzi, Mchunu visited the sites where the laying of the pipelines from Nandoni Dam to Nsami is currently under way, with 77.4% of work being completed.

The project will benefit about 55 villages in Limpopo, with a population of more than 240 000 people in Giyani.

Mchunu said he was satisfied that the work of bringing water to Giyani is on course.

“This is indeed in contrast to what I saw last year because the project was hopeless and was not moving at all,” Mchunu said.

The Minister said a new model for the pipeline installations from Nandoni to Nsami had to be drafted in order to put the project into motion.

He said the department has also installed a pipeline that will take treated water from the Water Treatment Works to Malamulele and the surrounding areas.

However, despite the progress on the raw water pipeline construction, the Minister said the area of Giyani is faced with challenges, including ageing infrastructure, asbestos pipes, as well as inadequate reticulation systems to the villages.

Mopani District Municipality indicated that there are upgrading projects of water reticulation and borehole refurbishment, particularly in the villages of Mageva, Ngove, Xikukwane, Giyani and other new places of habitation.

There is also a rehabilitation and refurbishment of Giyani Water Treatment Works, which produces 36 million litres per day.

Mchunu emphasised that water should be reticulated to the households.

He also noted the importance of prioritising water reticulation to communities at their own households, and consideration for the communal system, mainly for the mushrooming informal settlements.

During his interaction with the community of Giyani, the residents voiced their frustrations regarding the promises made to deliver water to their area.

The Minister assured the community that the water supply scheme is currently on course and water would be available in their villages by September this year.

“I must say that the Giyani Water Project has been an embarrassment to both the Department of Water and Sanitation and to government as a whole, but we are determined to make sure this project brings water here in Giyani and the reticulation should also be in your households,” Mchunu assured the community.

Source: South African Government News Agency