The Vhembe district municipality in Limpopo says it has set aside four-million rand to resuscitate two failed water projects to the value of R37-million. Two multi-million rand water projects in the District Municipality have not been working since they were completed.
The two projects costing R12-million and R25-million in Nthabalala and Mulima has become a white elephant as a result of defects and lack of water in the identified water source.
Following a public outcry about the millions of rands spent on the abandoned water projects, the Vhembe district municipality made a commitment to revive the two failed projects.
The two multi-million rand projects in Nthabalala and Mulima have not yet supplied water to residents due to defects and water scares in the identified water source.
Vhembe district municipality’s spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai says they have adjusted the budget to support the two projects.
“We have also adjusted the budget of the municipality and set aside the budget of about four-million rand to assist in the intervention in the area of Mulima in terms of the progress, but there’s a work that is going to be done by the district municipality. We acknowledged that there was a challenge in the project.”
Ralushai says the challenge at the project was as a result of nature and no one could be blamed.
“We no longer have water in many rivers in the area so the sand-well project gets dry and they are dry. The technical team determines whether it was a contractor fault or just naturally, every cent counts whether it was a hundred rand that hundred-rand counts.”
Spokesperson of the Mulima tribal authority, George Mukasi, says they’re hopeful that the municipality will rectify its mistake to ensure that water crisis is resolved.
“We are quite happy that there’s money for the project which was started long ago will come to an end and that water crisis will end. The developing forum can engage with the municipality how the money is going to be used.”
The R12-million water project in Nthabalala which was completed in 2014, does not supply water as the well does not have sufficient water.
The municipality then constructed another project at Mulima at a cost of R25 million, but attempts to link the two projects have failed and residents are still not getting water.
