The DA in Dr JS Moroka is concerned that certain councillors and municipal employees implicated in the R18 million drought relief tender fiasco have still not accounted for their alleged wrongdoings.
A forensic report released in 2020 detailed how this water project financed by the Department of Water and Sanitation was mismanaged.
It also revealed that boreholes which were meant for communities were drilled at the houses of employees and councillors. The project was rolled out as a result of continuous water supply challenges, caused by the persistent drought.
Nokaneng, Phake and Mmametlhake are amongst the villages that are still struggling with access to water. A thorough implementation of this intervention would have seen a total of 26 boreholes and two package plants. However, senseless ANC practices have shielded perpetrators who have allegedly crippled a project that would have alleviated residents’ water challenges.
Semi-rural communities in Dr JS Moroka rely on Mkhombo Dam, located in Siyabuswa for water. However, this dam has been experiencing challenges that can be attributed to recurring drought conditions.
It was also discovered that some companies that were awarded this tender failed to submit relevant tender documents. Despite this, the companies were given the go-ahead to do the drilling, refurbish boreholes and equipping work.
Residents of this municipality must still battle for clean water, a basic right enriched in our constitution. With 2024 elections fast approaching, the ANC administration in this municipality has been hard at work deceiving communities with alternative water supply.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu recently conceded that communities are not kept up to date on projects that are supposed to address water challenges in their areas.
The DA will not let the ANC do as they please with public funds while residents are deprived of basic services. DA CoGTA spokesperson Trudie Grove-Morgan will therefore urgently engage the department’s MEC Mandla Msibi to make sure that the law takes course in this municipality.