Africa-Press – South-Africa. Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu on Friday said he welcomed the “new attitude” of Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink following a meeting to resolve water supply problems to Hammanskraal and surrounding areas.
Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, has been plunged into a crisis following an outbreak of cholera in the area.
The Jubilee District Hospital has been dealing with an influx of patients with diarrhoeal diseases like cholera.
Twenty-one people have died of cholera in Gauteng, and one in the Free State.
More than 170 people have been treated for diarrhoeal disease at the hospital since the outbreak began.
Earlier this week, health officials said all cases in which people exhibited symptoms associated with diarrhoeal disease would be treated according to cholera treatment protocols.
Hammanskraal residents have had to endure dirty water and an inconsistent supply for more than a decade.
The South African Human Rights Commission previously found that residents in and around Hammanskraal had been consuming polluted water since the late 2000s.
The Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant has been identified as the source of the problems.
It was meant to be upgraded, but the contractors appointed to do so failed to deliver.
A forensic report compiled by the City found irregularities in how the tender for the refurbishment was awarded to CMS Water, NJR, and Blackhead Consulting in October 2019, News24 reported.
Mchunu said his meeting with Brink had been cordial, but frank.
He said:
Mchunu said a document had been presented and its contents agreed upon.
The document included the model to be used to upgrade the plant, as well as funding requirements.
The minister added that his department had agreed to work with the City.
“There was no agreement between the department and the City in the past. There was a series of directives and a spirit of not working together. We welcome the new attitude of the executive mayor of Tshwane.”
‘A clean break’
The City said fixing Rooiwal was critical in ensuring the supply of drinkable water to Hammanskraal residents, but that it did not have the money to upgrade the facility.
Brink said they had a productive meeting with the department, which had followed technical meetings between City and department officials.
He said:
“While compliance notices were issued against the municipality, the essence of the question is: ‘How do we find the capital to upgrade the plant within the contexts of minimal resources?’.”
Brink said they would take their proposal on a plan to fund the upgrade to other government departments.
“The aim is to fix Rooiwal, get clean water and funding, and work together. By making this preliminary agreement, we convey to National Treasury and other potential systems that this relationship is not holding back solutions. We have been careful not to make announcements that still need approval.”
He added that whatever had failed in the past, had to be replaced by the new partnership.
“As the City, we will source additional funding. What the department has brought to the table, which we must take to other departments, will solve the issue. I want to be very cautious in making promises that we will solve this issue overnight. This is the first step of what I believe to be a clean break of the past failures, disputes, squabbles and excuses,” he said.
The City’s finances showed it could afford to spend R150 million a year on servicing Rooiwal.
It is estimated the metro needs around R2.5 billion to completely improve its water systems.
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