To resolve Grahamstown's water problems requires money, skilled labour and a plan of action, says Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Pamela Tshwete.
To resolve Grahamstown's water problems requires money, skilled labour and a plan of action, says Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Pamela Tshwete.
Tshwete met this week with organisations involved in water management and funding in the city.
Tshwete visited Makana Municipality on Monday 1 September, following the latest spate of water outages in Grahamstown. Her visit came days after residents joined a delegation from local social justice group the Unemployed People's Movement and local government watchdog PSAM.
They marched to the City Hall to hand over a letter drawn up by the Public Service Accountability Monitor asking that the municipality be placed under administration in terms of section 139.
Tshwete told Grocott's Mail her department had read about what was happening in Makana Municipality and had decided to come and address the issue themselves. She told Grocott's that ageing infrastructure, inadequate water meters, and the lack of skilled labour, such as engineers, were the main reasons for the city's water problems.
"All seven provinces we have visited have the same problems," Tshwete said.
To resolve the problems required money, skilled labour and a plan of action. Tshwete said her department was in discussions with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation and Amatola Water to draw up an action plan.
Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter said estimates for solving the city's water problems amounted to around R800 million.
Peter said adding to the problem was that water users were being under-billed because of inadequate meter-reading systems; however, new meters were currently being installed.
