Mtubatuba - The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, has allocated R205 million to solve the perennial water crisis of Mtubatuba in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Mchunu said his department had adopted a two-pronged strategy that would see the growing town of Mtubatuba getting water from the Hluhluwe dam.
Mchunu made this undertaking on Friday, which was day two of his water imbizo in the Umkhanyakude district where he engaged communities on water issues.
Among the changes that his department implemented was taking over the project of bringing water to Zululand and other parts of Umkhanyakude where there have been issues for decades.
WATCH: Deputy Minister of Water & Sanitation, David Mahlobo, says vandalism & water tankers tender collusion and rogue business forums are posing a challenge in providing water to community. Mahlobo was part of the two-day Umkhanyakude water imbizo on Friday in Mtubatuba. @IOL pic.twitter.com/uxHy0Qk7SX
The projects are now carried out by the Mhlathuze water board, a water entity of the department based in Richards Bay.
The projects involved the revival of old and dormant schemes and drawing water from the Jozini dam using increased pipelines and delivering water to the communities.
This project will see the department using its own network to transport the water from Jozini to Zululand and areas of Umkhanyakude and dump the private infrastructure belonging to a local farmer.
WATCH: The Mayor of eDumbe local municipality in KZN, Sibusiso Mkhabela, says they are using their IDP roadshow to assure the people of the municipality that they are prioritizing water provision. He says should they fail to address water issue now, they will have a crisis . pic.twitter.com/MxLyNFbal2
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) May 12, 2023
Specifically about the issue of the Mtubatuba water crisis which has left the area’s thriving tourism industry in tatters and the township of KwaMsane, the biggest in the entire Umkhanyakude district, dry, Mchunu said they had appointed a contractor to urgently carry out the work.
He said the first move would be upgrading the water scheme near Mtubatuba from 13 megalitres a day to 20 megalitres.
He said this would enable the scheme to cover a larger area.
Mchunu said: The impact is very huge in terms of the wards that are going to be covered, but the general impact as a result of people getting water, households getting water, including KwaMsane township, which has been a problem for quite some time.
“Now, that is something that is going to happen. It’s not a promise, it’s not just an undertaking, it’s exactly something that we are going to start doing”
On Thursday Mchunu said they had decided to intervene in all 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal, including eThekwini, after they realised that there were water provision issues.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
Current Affairs