Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government had invested R3 billion over recent years to address water issues without seeing any progress.
He was addressing the parched area of Vulindlela in the Msunduzi Municipality, which falls under the uMgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
Ramaphosa told residents addressing their water worries was “priority one”.
“Priority one is people must get water. Priority two is employment. Another priority is ending criminality. Others want land.”
Ramaphosa said the government was committed to addressing these.
“We’re not doing these because of elections. We’re doing it because it’s [your right to access them].”
He had been responding to the drumbeat of complaints by residents in the area.
About 20 residents were given an opportunity to lay bare their concerns before Ramaphosa.
Ward 11 resident Mduduzi Ndlebe asked him to bring change and for his government to stop making promises.
Ndlebe said:
A resident, who only referred to himself as Mthembu, said the local police station was only good for certifying documents and officers were uninterested in attending to criminal cases.
Another resident said water tankers sometimes took three months to get to households. He added that they were poor.
“We have nothing, president. Nothing,” the visibly frustrated man said.
Another man complained about the poor network in Msunduzi.
KwaZulu-Natal only had 11% network connectivity, Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube told a presidential imbizo a fortnight ago.
He said the government could now see tangible advances after he appointed Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu.
“Mchunu understands the whole water network and he knows exactly what we should do,” Ramaphosa said.
The Department of Water and Sanitation received R1 billion to tackle water issues in the district.
Mchunu had invited Ramaphosa to see for himself how the money was spent.
The department recently completed the upgrade of a treatment plant that treats domestic and industrial sewage from the Msunduzi Municipality’s from a treatment capacity of 65 megalitres per day to 100 megalitres.
The oversight visit took place at the Darvill wastewater treatment plant and Vulindlela bulk water scheme.
Phase 1 upgrades of Vulindlela will mean an improved supply of drinking water to communities in the uMgungundlovu District, which includes the Msunduzi and uMngeni local municipalities.
Running water is not yet available to households, which Ramaphosa and Mchunu promised would happen soon.
In addition to lack of water and poor network connectivity, residents also complained about unemployment, poverty, land, and “useless” councillors.
However, he added, last year the economy saw the addition of 1.4 million jobs.
Ramaphosa said the government was building mega infrastructure projects to address unemployment.
On network issues, he said SA Connect was working to spread the network, adding that he was aware this played a role in increasing unemployment.
Economy
“Our economy hasn’t been growing as it should. In China, their economy grows around 5%. Ours grows by two or 1.5%.”
Ramaphosa said he wished to see the economy grow by 5% per year.
He added the government needed to spend money “better” by building houses and taking children to school.
The president heaped praise on the government’s redress efforts.
“I don’t know any [other] government in this continent [that] takes care of its people [better] than ours,” he said, citing social grants, free school and tertiary education.
Ramaphosa conceded some things, such as roads and tap water flowing into homes, “would take time” to come to fruition.
On councillors not doing their jobs, he said: “Councillors need to be closer to people so people can see they’re working otherwise people will complain.”
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