The top brass of the Water and Sanitation Department has held a series of meetings with officials in the Eastern Cape to find solutions to the water crisis afflicting the province.

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, along with his Deputy Ministers, David Mahlobo and Dikeledi Magadzi, this week met with the Eastern Cape provincial leadership, led by Premier Oscar Mabuyane and the Amatola Water Board Management.

Top on the agenda were issues of governance, delays of finishing water projects, sources of water to supply the province and mismanagement of certain entities.

During the Minister’s engagements, Mabuyane raised concern on the delays of completing water projects, especially the Mzimvubu Water Project and ageing water infrastructure.

Mchunu emphasised the importance of joint planning with key stakeholders in the water sector.

The Amatola Water Board, led by Acting CEO Z. Xalisa, requested the Minister to intervene on the operation of water tankers procured by the DWS, as an intervention to supply communities in the province with water where drought persists.

Mchunu said Amatola Water should find means for these tankers to be utilised and not “gather dust”.

In the past years, the Ndlambe Local Municipality was impacted by a stubborn drought and water shortage.

The DWS intervened through its Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG), which approved an amount of R80 million for construction purposes. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs contributed R20 million towards fast tracking of the Ndlambe project, while the Ndlambe municipality contributed R72.2 million. Of this amount, R65.59 million is for operation and maintenance over a three-year period.

On Wednesday, Mahlobo and Magadzi visited the Ndlambe Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Plant (SWROP) to experience the operation of the plant.

Source: South African Government News Agency