By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says the City would need R130 billion to resolve the water crisis in the metro, which has seen some of the residents go without the resource for up to 150 days.
Residents of eThekwini communities such as Parkgate in Verulam and Phoenix have been taking to the streets to demand better water supply.
On Friday, Kaunda accompanied deputy president Paul Mashatile during visits to the northern wastewater treatment works in Springfield Park, Adams K5 & K6 Water Reservoir in Amanzimtoti, and the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale.
Mashatile’s mandate is to lead the team of various government depatments.
One of the stops was the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works in Springfield Park.
They were walked through the wastewater process at the facility.
Kaunda says the plant, which was badly affected by past floods, is being upgraded.
“We are also upgrading Hammarsdale, Phoenix, Scottburgh, Ohlange Pump Stations which have been attracting more challenges when it comes to contamination of our rivers and beaches.
“We are happy to report we are on the ground doing this work, but we still require more funds to be able to deal with the actual challenges that are facing the city.”
The mayor says water pipes are also being upgraded in the southern part of the city, and a contractor has been appointed for the R1.2 billion project.
The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) 155-page report shows that in respect of the KZN Water Master Plan, municipalities are not adhering to the guidelines to reserve 8% of their annual operational budgets for operations and maintenance – which is causing an imminent disaster in terms of the functionality of the infrastructure.
The inquiry panel – chaired by commissioner Philile Ntuli and supported by commissioner Chris Nissen and University of KwaZulu-Natal water researcher Prof Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi – made several findings and recommendations to patch up the mess and hold municipal officials to account.
The 8% maintenance guideline set by National Treasury was nowhere near on track, with some municipalities spending less than 1% on maintenance.
According to the commission panel, KZN municipalities were “on average” budgeting between 2-3% for infrastructure maintenance.
Kaunda told Mashatile that as much as eThekwini metro officials and politicians were on the ground doing their work, “we still require more funds to be able to deal with the actual challenges that are facing the city”.
“That is amounting around R130 billion – just to be certain that we are able to upgrade our infrastructure to work in a manner that is envisaged.”
Mashatile assured eThekwini metro residents that the water situation was under control and that they dont need lose any sleep over it.
He said, he is satisfied with the reports he has received so far from the government’s water task team.
“The task team is going to look at what the problem is and what we should do in the short and long term,” said Mashatile.
“Long-term, a lot of infrastructure needs to be repaired. Short-term, we need to make sure that wherever there may be challenges, we fix them so that there is a continuous supply of water.”