BY: MASHUDU MAGADU
Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has confirmed that residents of Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, will have clean portable water by September. On Wednesday, Mchunu and the Mayor of the City of Tshwane, Cilliers Brink, inspected the ongoing upgrades at the Rooiwal Sewage Treatment Plant and the Klipdrift Package Plant outside Hammanskraal.
He stated that,” People do not want water takers they want tap water. This is why we are also launching the Klipdrift water package plant project to provide water in the interim while the long upgrades take place at Rooiwal. Plant is set to get upgraded from 42 to 92 mega litres per day.”
Tshwane Deputy Mayor Cllr Nasiphi Moya speaks on plans to provide clean water to the people of Hammanskraal in the next six months. “Starting from next week, we will be going to communities to audit the meters to ensure that we get the stock in terms of how much the residents are water, either the meters are in good condition or not and in-store them for those who don’t have them. We will insure that we have good report monthly about the progress that we are making”, he said.
Hammanskraal communities have been experiencing poor water supply for many years. More than 40 people died after allegedly consuming contaminated water last year. Mchunu says they are making progress in providing clean water. “I want to inform you that the first drop of water from this package plant we will see it in September and it’s no longer an open-ended thing in September this year, but in the meantime, Tshwane is going to be running tankers maybe a borehole here and there just ensure people get clean water,” Mchunu added.
