Hammanskraal Water quality not receiving the priority it deserves
The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation is concerned that there is no progress in dealing with Hammanskraal’s water quality challenges. The committee visited the area today in a follow-up to their visit in August 2019.
The committee was informed that the City of Tshwane has only now signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (Erwat) to assist with the operation of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“It is unacceptable that five months after the committee’s visit there was only movement on the MoU yesterday. While we are cognisant of the laborious bureaucratic process within local government, it remains unacceptable that the intervention process is moving at a snail’s pace,” said Ms Machwene Semenya, the Chairperson of the committee.
This slow process is undermining the objective of finding a lasting solution to the current challenges and to supply the people of Hammanskraal with quality drinking water. The committee says the intervention must be rapid and deliver adequate results, but that this has not been the case.
Furthermore, the committee is concerned to hear that a contract to start with phase 1 of the expansion of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant has been cancelled, despite being signed off in October 2019.
The committee has called for consequence management for those that were part of the bid evaluation committee for the appointment of the contractor, who is now deemed incapable of delivering the work.
“While we welcome the fact that the City of Tshwane acted swiftly to cancel a contract with a contractor that is unable to deliver on work to limit substandard work, it is concerning that the bid evaluation committee was unable to detect deficiencies at evaluation stage. A thorough investigation must be done with adequate consequence management at the completion of the investigation.
The committee has called for the ramping up of the implementation of plans to ensure that the challenges are resolved. This will include finalising the service level agreement with Erwat and Magalies Water, using the reprioritised Urban Settlement Development Grant to deliver infrastructure development programmes, and strengthening monitoring and evaluation to ensure value for money for any investment made.
In relation to water tankering, the committee emphasised its call to limit the use of water tankers, as the practice is susceptible to corruption. “There is an urgent need to implement infrastructure programmes to limit overreliance on tankers that are not sustainable and are expensive,” Ms Semenya said.
The committee has also called for the employment of skilled professionals to operate the City of Tshwane’s wastewater treatment plant to ensure that when the intervention ends there will be adequate skills transfer from Erwat to permanently employed city officials.
The committee has also instructed Tshwane and the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation to provide the committee with quarterly reports on the intervention to ensure effective monitoring.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Malatswa Molepo
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 081 512 7920
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
