Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has handed over 20 water tankers worth R26 million to the Amatola District in the Eastern Cape.
This is part of efforts to bring relief to drought-stricken municipalities in the province as well as those that have ageing water infrastructure.
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces that falls short when it comes to water delivery. Sisulu says they are making amends.
“This is what we are giving to most municipalities. We started here because there is a drought here. The next municipality will probably be Maluti a Phofung as they are also struggling with drought and as we will be getting reports of drought, we will be giving out these tankers.
It only became clear to us when we did an environmental assessment and saw that the rains are not about to come. They have come now so we bought these and we are hoping that the production will be ongoing until we can ensure all municipalities that are in distress get them,” the Minister says.
Amathole District Municipality Mayor, Khanyile Maneli, says they are excited about the intervention.
“We are extremely excited about the intervention by Minister Sisulu because here in Amathole we have been hit hard by drought. It is going to bring great relief for us and our people are going to make use of the intervention,” says Maneli.
Official handover of 20 water tankers to Amatola Water. The water board will oversee the management of these tanks and ensure that communities get water. #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/Ljn9rL0fNr
— Lindiwe Sisulu (@LindiweSisuluSA) March 12, 2021
