Durban - Ethekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda will be introducing a contractor that has been appointed to rebuild the Tongaat Water Treatment Plant that was damaged by the floods in April leaving communities without water since then.
Residents of oThongathi have been struggling with water supply and relied solely on chaotic water tankers.
The repairs will cost the city R30 million.
According to the city, the contractor, who will be introduced on Thursday for the rebuilding the water treatment, works to re-establish a regular supply of water to the community.
Msawakhe Mayisela, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, said the contractor would also attend to other infrastructure - such as the installation of an emergency pipeline from Nyaninga Reservoir to Tongaat South as an immediate solution to provide tap water four hours a day.
He said water tankers would continue to supply water to add on 48 static tanks that were installed. He added that procurement processes were underway to drill additional boreholes.
During the media briefing on Wednesday, Mayor Kaunda reassured residents that the city was doing all in its power to resolve the water issue. He said while water treatment was city infrastructure, the land where they were built is owned by Tongaat Hulett, with whom they had to engage with to resolve the problem.
“The construction of that road to rehabilitate has started already to enable the contractor to reach the site. They promised it would be complete within 10 days then the contractor will kick in to start working on the Water treatment plant of the municipality,” said Kaunda.
Kaunda noted a challenge with the timelines appointed by the city, and appealed to community members to bear with the city when it addresses challenges as it aims to produce a quality product, as opposed to a quick-fix solution that is not of sound quality for the community, due to pressure.
He added that the timelines for the projects were reviewed.
“We have reviewed the timeline for the project. From the six months that we estimated, and the contract that we are signing with the contractor it talks about four months. We are anticipating that by the end of September the contractor will have completed the work,” said Kaunda.
He added that due to the uncertainty in the construction time frames, it may be done in the earliest part of October, however the team was encouraged to be as quick as possible and not compromise the quality of work.
Meanwhile, Steven Naidoo, Chairperson of the Tongaat Ratepayers Association, welcomed the announcement of the appointment of the contractor, adding that they would appreciate receiving water from their taps.
He further disputed the availability of water, as indicated by Kaunda.
“There is no community in Tongaat that is receiving water in their taps four hours a day as alluded to by the mayor.
The boreholes were done by donors after seeing the plight of the community and that the city could not take credit in that regard.
“Most of the Jojo tanks were also supplied by sponsors and donors. So the mayor needs to be introspective and be honest in his pronouncement on the boreholes and Jojo tanks,” said Naidoo.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE