DURBAN - THE DA in Ugu District Municipality has warned that without a properly costed plan and effective oversight to ensure the plan was followed, the R19 million grant provided by the provincial Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to alleviate the water crisis, might not be used for its intended purpose.
Cogta MEC Sipho Hlomuka recently announced the transfer of the R19m in grant funding to the Ugu District Municipality, as part of efforts to improve the provision of water in the area.
About R15m would be used to repair and upgrade the Bhobhoyi water scheme (St Helen’s Rock), while the rest of the grant would be for the drilling of 12 boreholes in the uMuziwabantu and uMzumbe local municipalities.
Dr Rishigen Viranna, DA MP and head of the DA Ugu constituency, said while the R19m was a drop in the ocean in terms of what was needed to end the water crisis, it would ease some challenges.
“The cost of fixing the water problem in the area runs into billions, due to the neglect and lack of maintenance of the water system,” he said.
He added that there was a need to fix downstream problems to ensure balance, as there was an issue of some reservoirs overflowing while others remained empty.
“We need a lot more oversight to ensure that there is a properly costed plan and it is followed, otherwise this will be a futile exercise. Unless the downstream problems are also fixed, the problem will also continue,” he said.
Hilton O'Dwyer, chairperson of the South Coast Water Action Group, said they had heard there was a budget to repair and upgrade the pump station in Port Shepstone; however work had not begun due to election delays.
Hlomuka said the roll-out of the grant “follows a rigorous assessment of water infrastructure that was done by technicians from Cogta in conjunction with their counterparts from the district”.
Daily News