NCOP delegates say labour dispute in Tshwane will worsen provision of water and sanitation

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) delegates say the protracted labour dispute in Tshwane will worsen the provision of water and sanitation in the city. The NCOP sent a delegation to assess the situation in the capital city. One of the delegates Mohammed Dangor says some areas such as Hammanskraal will bear the brunt of the unprotected wage strike by some municipal workers.

“Both parties now seek arbitration to resolve this particular matter. The events of the labour dispute will have a negative impact upon all developments within the City of Tshwane, but particularly will have harmful effect in the area such as Hammanskraal,” says Dangor.

Meanwhile, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has expressed disappointment about the non-attendance of its meetings by the Mayor of Mopani district municipality, Pule Shai. The committee members are conducting an oversight visit at the multi-billion-rand bulk water project in Giyani, Limpopo.

The district municipality is responsible for water reticulation and distribution to households. The committee says the executive was supposed to brief the committee on progress being made to supply water from the plant to households. Executive mayor Shai is yet to comment.

In a statement, the committee is dissatisfied that the executive mayor was not available and missed its oversight visit.

The committee has also said that acts of corruption must be stopped in the bulk water project. It says that some of the sub-contracts have been terminated due to alleged poor performance.

The committee has also welcomed the intervention of the Water and Sanitation Department, as the district municipality is failing to supply water to households.