Staff Reporter
Water supplies in Zastron and Rouxville in the Mohokare Local Municipality are set to improve as the municipality, in collaboration with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), is about to complete upgrades to the water treatment plants in the two towns.
Municipal officials told journalists during a tour of the two facilities that water treatment capacity in the towns is set to more than double upon completion of the work.
The upgrades in Zastron will ensure sustainable water supplies to the residents of the town and an additional 748 households that will benefit from this first phase of the project.
The municipality’s technical director, Seninane Thejane, said the upgrades cost just under R60 million.
“The total cost for this project (Rouxville plant) is R25.6 million, including the construction and professional fees,” said Thejane.
“At Zastron we spent almost R34.2 million on the construction and professional fees,” he added.
The Zastron plant is presently operating at 2.7 mega-litres per day and is not adequately meeting demand.
The second phase is expected to significantly boost capacity.
The new Rouxville plant will have a capacity of 4.3 mega-litres upon completion.
It is now at 98 percent complete and currently produces 1.7 mega-litres per day.
Thejane said the construction of the plant and major installations have been completed.
The electrical connections are the only major work that’s outstanding.
The plant is set to be fully operational by the end of October.
There are about 3 000 households in Rouxville and the expansion is set to cater for anticipated growth.
Acting mayor Tjhabedi Phatsoane said the influx of people from neighbouring provinces as well as Lesotho was proving a burden to the municipality’s infrastructure.
“We have two informal settlements in Zastron and we also have many people coming from nearby provinces and Lesotho . . . this is posing a challenge here,” said Phatsoane.
Municipal manager Selby Selepe dismissed allegations of misuse of funds in the two upgrades saying the latest report from the Auditor General for 2019/20 never raised issues with the work done to date.
“There is nowhere that these two projects are mentioned for any irregularity. You can also verify this information that I am telling you now. An AG’s report is a public document . . .” said Selepe.
DWS national spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the department will continue working closely with the municipality to ensure service delivery and accountability.
“As a department, we cannot sleep at night when the local municipality is still not serviced.
“We cannot divorce ourselves . . . so you are going to see more of that interaction and support that will come from the department . . .
“Ultimately, it is about accountability . . . we are responsible for delivering on the mandate that has been given to us and also account for the public funding that we are responsible for,” said Ratau.
