When former president Jacob Zuma conducted a spectacular sod-turning ceremony at the site of the long-delayed Mzimvubu Water Project back in 2014, there was no budget allocated for the project.
This was the startling revelation made by Water and Sanitation minister, Senzo Mchunu, during a meeting with traditional leaders and mayors of three district municipalities that will get water from the project, held at Siqungwini Village in Tsolo on November 13.
Mchunu became Minister of Water and Sanitation in 2021.
He said that he learnt that there was no budget when he came into office and tried establishing the cause of the delay in getting the multi-billion rand project off the ground.
He added that an amount of R8 billion has been made available to finally get the project off the ground.
The main project involves the construction of the Ntabelanga Dam at Siqungwini Village, as well as four primary command reservoirs, and 38 secondary command reservoirs.
Mchunu said that the project had been reconfigured in that the initial project involved a water treatment plant, but government realised that district municipalities that will be getting water already had such infrastructure in place.
“On rationalising and reconfiguring, we realised that all three district municipalities have adequate infrastructure in the form of water treatment plants.
“It would have been a repetition to build another water treatment plant with money that government does not have,” Mchunu added.
Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo and Joe Gqabi are the district municipalities that will get water from the Mzimvubu Water Project, with 148 443 households from the three district municipalities set to access water from the new dam.
Mchunu would not be drawn into commenting on when the project will be completed.
He also declined to comment on the claim by residents of Lalini in Qumbu that another dam will be constructed in their area as part of the project, as per a promise made by former president Zuma when he conducted the sod-turning event in 2014.
