'Programme of action' being put in place to fix South Coast water woes, says Premier Sihle Zikalala
|Published
KwaZulu-Natal South Coast residents yesterday said they were hopeful that the water crisis in the area would finally be resolved. KwaZulu Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala accompanied by the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay, MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sipho Hlomuka, MEC for Social Development Nonhlanhla Khoza, mayors of local municipalities and councillors attended an engagement aimed at tackling the persistent water crisis in the Ugu District.
DURBAN - KWAZULU-NATAL South Coast residents yesterday said they were hopeful that the water crisis in the area would finally be resolved.
The residents from the Ugu District Municipality spoke to The Mercury after attending a meeting with Premier Sihle Zikalala.
He conducted site visits to key water infrastructure and unveiled short- and long-term plans to deal with the issue.
Chairperson of the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality youth council Siphelele Cele said while water tankers were provided, each ward was given only one truck, which could not provide the whole community with water. The trucks came only on Sundays. He said that after the premier’s visit, he believed that there was hope that the crisis would be resolved.
Ayanda Bhengu, of Umzumbe, said: “We have hope that this will be solved especially because the premier said he would come back after 30 days and he will be following the matter.”
Bhengu said being without water for four months had been hard. He said it had been painful to watch children going to school without bathing.
Chairperson of the women’s sector at Ogwini, Zamokuhle Gwala, said she was waiting to see if there would be a change. “There is hope, but we will have to wait and see if the water crisis will be solved. It has been too long.”
Speaking to the media, Zikalala expressed concern about the continuous disruptions and poor state of water supply in the district.
“We know that the current water crisis is impacting negatively on social services such as schools and hospitals as well as residents. It also impacts negatively on businesses as well as the tourism industry which is the backbone of the economy of Ugu District.”
He said the challenges that had been identified included:
◆ Ageing infrastructure which is struggling to meet demand due to population growth.
◆ Addressing inequalities, as areas such as Ezinqoleni/Ezingolweni were not provided with water previously.
◆ Vandalism of infrastructure by criminal elements.
◆ High water losses and low revenue collection in the area.
◆ Issues of technical capacity.
Zikalala said a programme of action was being put in place to reach a permanent resolution to the challenges.
Some of the short-term interventions included re-prioritisation of grant funding in order to implement the immediate interventions of mechanical infrastructure refurbishment at Bhobhoyi Water Treatment Works and Mthavuna Water Treatment Works, and linking a pipeline to the Umzimkhulu Off-Channel Storage Dam in order to immediately improve the efficiency of the existing infrastructure.
Other plans include the upgrade of the uMzimkhulu storage dam, which must be increased to stay at above 70 to 80%, and upgrading of Eskom power at the Mthavuna Water Treatment Works, which is planned to be completed in June.
There are plans for springs and boreholes in Umdoni, Umzumbe and Umuziwabantu local municipalities.
He said in the interim the municipality was implementing a water-rationing schedule to address the intermittent water supply in Umzinto, Gandinaghar, Farm Isonti, Mistake Farm, Amandawe, KwaCele, Dududu and Amahlongwa.
Other longer term plans include the upgrade of various water treatment works in the area.
THE MERCURY