Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube to entrench government’s efforts towards ensuring security of supply
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane, will visit the province of KwaZulu-Natal on 22 March 2016. On the day, the Minister will, together with MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, oversee the event that will be the launch of the Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme.
The programme on the day will include a visit to the scheme and a public event at the meeting. The construction of Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme is necessary to ensure the supply demands precipitated by the growth of the district identified in the Water and Sanitation Master Plan for iLembe DM are met. The purpose was necessitated by the need to supply an additional 55Ml/d of treated water to the coastal and inland areas of KwaDukuza LM and Mandeni LM.
The partnership between the DWS, the KZN provincial government, together with Umgeni Water and ILembe District Municipality, ensured that this dream of the construction of the scheme became a reality.
It is important that as the DWS and all its partners continues with its work towards ensuring water supply across all strata of society, there be an acknowledgement to all about the centrality of water in all socio-economic development.
So far as the iLembe DM is concerned, the population projection for the area up to 2035 is 19,149 people in approximately 3,193 households. The supply of water to industry will ensure job creation and economic upliftment of the local community. Water access backlog eradication will also be addressed through the implementation of the scheme. The project also offers construction job opportunities to a community in desperate need of economic assistance.
The project is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Umgeni Water.
The project includes the infrastructure required to abstract and treat water from the UThukela River to supply to secondary bulk and reticulation networks within the iLembe DM. These networks will ultimately supply both developed and un-served areas. Phase 1 of the project is about 95% complete. The estimated total cost of the project to completion is estimated to be R1.32 billion; the last part of the contract is expected to be completed in September 2016.
Enquiries:
Sputnik Ratau
Spokesperson for DWS
Cell: 082 874 2942
Lennox Mabaso
Spokesperson for COGTA KZN
Cell: 082 884 2403
