Work underway to assist communities affected by construction of Nandoni Dam
Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr David Mahlobo has instructed Departmental officials to move with speed in implementing remedial actions contained in a report by the Public Protector on the construction of the Nandoni Dam.
The report of the Public Protector came as a result of some dissatisfaction from some community members who were adversely affected by the construction of Nandoni Dam in the Vhembe District Municipality.
On Tuesday, 06 October 2020, Deputy Minister Mahlobo convened a meeting with officials responsible for the full implementation of Public Protector’s remedial action to receive a progress report on actions to date. He expressed his delight that there is some progress but urged those involved to pick up the pace of the implementation as it is unfair to keep affected communities waiting.
So far, the Department is at 81% in completing the construction of new houses for the families that were moved and has made considerable progress in repairing houses with structural defects. The work is expected to be completed by June 2021 after it was initially hindered by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. This includes 362 houses with structural defects in Budeli, Mulenzhe, Dididi and Tshilungoma villages.
In March 2020, Deputy Minister Mahlobo visited the area and met with various community representatives in an effort to understand some of their grievances and come up with solutions to the delayed compensation process.
He recommended that the Department should bring the required services to the people, in a bid to fast track the compensation process, by setting up helpdesks in the affected villages. Subsequently, ten villages were assisted and the process was halted due to announcement of the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown. With the country on alert level one these helpdesks have been resuscitated are in full operation. The four remaining villages are being assisted with their documentation and verification of vendor forms. This process shortens the route of the collected documents which were initially submitted to Construction Site Offices at Nandoni Dam, transferred to Tzaneen before finally reaching the Pretoria Offices.
A Nandoni Task Team Committee, consisting of two representatives from each affected village has also been established to help fast tract the process. The Department has already received the list of representatives endorsed by the respective traditional leaders.
Furthermore, the Deputy Minister Mahlobo has committed to set up a high level structure that will oversee the implementation of the Public Protector’s remedial actions and to address other matters that cannot be address by the Nandoni Task Team committee.
Enquiries:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
