Parliament, Sunday, 18 September 2022 – The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs told the Mayor of Makana Local Municipality that it will convene a meeting with the so called tripartite partners on their so called “Tripartite Agreement” to get a better understanding of the delays in the completion of the James Kleynhans Waste Water Treatment Works that could have alleviated the water challenge in the Makana Local Municipality.
As part of its oversight programme the committee visited James Kleynhans Waste Water Treatment Works and Bellmont Valley Waste Water Treatment Works. At James Kleynhans Waste Water Treatment Works, the committee was informed about all the reasons that delay the completion of the project. Among those reasons, is the liquidation of Mamlambo Construction company which was appointed for the water project.
The committee heard that, initially, the total cost for the construction of the James Kleynhans water project was R50 million, but according to the municipality the cost escalated to R237 million. When the committee wanted more information on that and asked the existence of a timeframe indicating completion of each phase, the municipal director responsible for the project said it is Amatola Water as an implementing agent that can provide answers on those questions.
The delays in the James Kleynhans water project has had an adverse impact on the upgrading of the Belmont Waste Water Treatment Works as the Bulk Regional Infrastructure Grant is already tied up in the James Klynhans project. The committee would also want the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent to account on the shoddy work regarding the rehabilitation of some of the roads in the municipality.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Fikile Xasa, said the painful thing in the whole Klynhans water problem is that the people of Makhanda were told that Kleynhans water project is a solution to their problem of the shortage of water. “The people were assured that the project is going to deliver on a sustainable basis enough supply of water to them. The stoppage of the project because of liquidation of the service provider can never make sense to the people,” said Mr Xasa.
The committee has asked the municipality to provide it with all the documents indicating the municipality’s interaction with other role-players for the completion of the water project within 14 days. Furthermore, the committee said the availability of that information will determine the appointment of the meeting with the role-players that the municipality said are involved in the water project.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS, MR FIKILE XASA.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Mava Lukani (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 081 503 1840
E-mail: mlukani@parliament.gov.za
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