By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has apologised to residents of Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, for the poor quality of water supplied to the area.
Ramaphosa visited the community of Hammanskraal on Thursday, following the Cholera outbreak.
Addressing the community, He acknowledged that government has failed the residents, who have been without quality water for many years.
“We are sorry that we have not been able to provide you with the basic human right of clean water, and that it has taken the lives of people. We have not lived up to your expectation, and we are now going to do things right, “Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said, that during the visit at Rooiwal waterwaste plant, he discovered that the plant is too old since it was built in the 1950s and has not been maintained for quite some time, has rusty pipes and the machine is not in a good working condition.
He also called for an end to the awarding tenders for the building of infrastructure, to unskilled people.
Ramaphosa noted that the tenders, which were issued by the City of Tshwane for repairing and extension of the water works, was left uncompleted, due to irregularities.
“They issued big tenders and the work was half done up to 68% and the tender had to be cancelled because there was irregularities in the award of a tender. Had the work been done properly at that water works, the provision of clean quality water would have been there, Ramaphosa said.
Culture of maintenance
The President also emphasised the importance of infrastructure maintenance, noting that the culture of maintenance throughout the country is very low.
“We build installations, some of them the most beautiful, and when we finish building them, we forget about them and about maintaining them. The right approach and culture is, once you build a facility or an installation, you must from day one, start maintaining so that it functions well, and way into the future.
“When you don’t maintain the machines, which works day and night, it will definitely break down one of these days. We’ve seen it now in electricity and we are now also seeing it in another vital area, which is water, and this must come to an end…we must start maintaining our infrastructure, as South Africans,” the President said.
Rooiwal refurbishment
Ramaphosa noted that the maintenance and expansion of Rooiwal Wastewater Works and Temba Water treatment will cost R4 billion, with the final completion of work expected to take three years.
Ramaphosa said while the maintenance and expansion of Rooiwal Wastewater and Temba Water Plants is underway, the City of Tshwane will continue to provide tankered water.
He also announced that government has invited Magalies Water, who will come to Hammanskraal and assist with the building of small water works.
“They [Magalies] would be able to complete the work in the next six months. You will carry on using tankering water supplying clean water, but it won’t go on for a long period, “Ramaphosa explained.
He reiterated the warning against using unboiled water for consumption, as it is currently not in good quality.