The DWS’ donated water tankers gladly received by the Mayor of Abaqulusi Local Municipality
The beneficiary municipality will serve the community better. At the direction of the Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Ms. Nomvula Mokonyane, the DWS has handed over a number of water tankers to some of the municipalities affected by the drought in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN); these are the Abaqulusi Local Municipality, 3 trucks, and the UMkhanyakude District Municipality, 5 trucks, who benefitted from this round of water trucks’ donation.
On receipt of the 3 trucks, the Mayor of Abaqulusi, Hon. Cllr P.N. Khaba, showed utmost appreciation and made the point that this intervention will go a long way towards ensuring the LM serves the community better.
“The delivery of these tankers is but one sign that discussions and decisions of the MuniMEC, an engagement process in KwaZulu-Natal led by the MEC for COGTA, MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, with Mayors and key stakeholders from the province’s municipalities, are taken seriously.
These are then escalated to the Premier and evidently in this instance, to the Minister of Water and Sanitation.
“As a municipality with a large rural population which has been even more affected by the drought, the rural wards will be more targeted to benefit from the use of these trucks. We will have one truck set aside for the benefit of the hospital, the prison and the abattoir. I believe this is where we cannot compromise on water availability.
“We are also cognisant of the need during funerals, weddings and all kinds of communal needs and uses. The fact is that our communities look first at the local municipality for services, but this donation is a symbol of just how co-operation amongst all spheres of government has come to the fore and will definitely be more appreciated. I will be writing letters of appreciation to Minister Mokonyane and MEC Dube-Ncube for their leadership and foresight”.
This intervention is meant to reduce the dependence of government on very expensive water tankering tender processes. Whereas each fully fitted truck costs the government R1,3 million, there will be a saving of at least R20 million per truck per annum by municipalities.
The municipality will be able to deal with issues of water availability without needing the deviations from procedure that negatively impact on the report of the Auditor-General; this is one issue that Mayor Hon. Cllr. Khaba believes will ensure all municipalities can benefit from and must work towards.
For more information:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
Email: RatauS@dwa.gov.za
