The NCOP’s Eastern Cape delegation conducted a walkabout of various infrastructure projects in the Chris Hani District Municipality where the delegation was informed that 80% of the population in the district is indigent.
The NCOP is currently engaged in conducting follow-up oversight in various provinces as part of its flagship Provincial Week programme. In the Eastern Cape, the NCOP delegation is visiting the Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi municipalities, with a focus on checking up on progress achieved at various infrastructure projects.
Briefing the delegation, the acting Mayor of the Chris Hani District Municipality, Ms Bongeka Nobuntu, said an inability to collect municipal rates and taxes has forced the municipality to devise other strategies to sustain itself. She also noted: “Another challenge is that our machines (water engines) are being stolen by syndicates. We have lost 15 engines and that is a strain on our ability for water provision to communities.”
The delegation’s first walkabout took place at the refurbished Tsomo Waste Water Treatment Plant. The delegation heard about expansion and capacity challenges related to the fact that the reservoir and pump stations must source water for domestic use from the Tsomo Water Treatment Plant. This process has been hampered by slow negotiations with a local chief, Eskom, failing contractors and problems with the water licence.
Nonetheless, despite all these challenges the sanitation and water work is continuing.
“As a Water Services Authority, we understand the enormous responsibility placed upon us. Water is life, sanitation is dignity, and access to these basic services is fundamental to the quality of life of our communities,” Ms Nobuntu said. “Over the past two years, Chris Hani District Municipality has completed more than 25 water and sanitation projects, which have subsequently been handed over to communities.”
Ms Nobuntu said these were not simply statistics or infrastructure projects on paper. “Each completed project represents households, families and communities whose access to water has been improved.”
The municipality also introduced a Spring Protection Programme as part of efforts to find practical and sustainable solutions, particularly for our rural communities.
“This demonstrates that while we continue to invest in major bulk water infrastructure, we are also implementing interventions that can provide communities with more immediate access to water,” concluded Cllr Nobuntu.
Sibongile Maputi
19 August 2026
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