The Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Honorable Des van Rooyen and the CoGTA MEC in the Eastern Cape Honorable Fikile Xasa, handed over 10 boreholes to the Alfred Nzo District Municipality today (11 July 2016).
This project of providing communities with water through the boreholes is the initiative of Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), which is under CoGTA. The handover event was held at Ramafule village which is under the Matatiele Local Municipality. The Minister tasted the water indicating that the boreholes are ready serve communities.
“This intervention of assisting with boreholes will go a long way in providing relief to the communities who are already experiencing the negative impact of drought”, said Minister van Rooyen.
The Minister said that this project is one of the many others that are implemented across the country and that it speaks to the Intergovernmental Framework Act which emphasises cooperative governance and working together of the three spheres of government. We are encouraged to see the results of this cooperation amongst the three spheres delivering water to communities through the boreholes. This confirms that indeed, working together we can uplift the lives of South African citizens.
“Projects such as this one are important for communities because one borehole at Ramafule will supply water to a population of 2580 that has 469 households, yielding 1.25 litres per second. This progress and the changes we are continuing to make in the lives of communities is important”, said Minister van Rooyen
Minister also handed over certificates to 35 participants that were trained by CoGTA through MISA. This programme will assist to strengthen the capacity within the Alfred Nzo District Municipality in the areas of water and sanitation services.
We applaud the important partnership between this three spheres of government for making a difference in the lives of communities here in Alfred Nzo District Municipality. The training of the unemployed matriculants in the Matatiele area as Water and Waste Water Process Controllers is part of the broader government and CoGTA strategies to ensure that youth have the necessary skills that will assist them to be part of the economic activities in the country.
“MISA works with municipalities to provide technical skills and offer funding in order to address infrastructure challenges, this is therefore your responsibility to take care of this borehole”, Said Minister van Rooyen.
Enquiries:
Mr Legadima Leso
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