EFF STATEMENT ON THE GIYANI WATER PROJECT.
Wednesday, 19 April 2023.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Limpopo notes the purported
completion of the Giyani Water Project as materially flawed and misleading.
First and foremost, it must be highlighted that the Department of Water and
Sanitation (DWS) has failed to meet its March deadline to complete the longawaited project as pronounced by both DWS Minister and again by the
constitutional delinquent President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This after the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation
conducted an in loco inspection on the Giyani Water Project in Giyani on
Tuesday, 18 April 2023 and claimed that the Nandoni-Nsami Water Project has
been completed and water is flowing through the Xikukwani canal to Nsami
Dam.
The Giyani Bulk Water Project which costed taxpayers more than R3 billion
with residents waiting for water for more than 10 years, so the flowing of
water through a canal is nothing worth celebrating, precisely because the canal
infrastructure is a reminiscent of the erstwhile Gaza-Nkulu/Venda apartheid
government and residents are not benefiting from it.
By and large, the EFF demands the flow of water into the taps of households of
the 55 villages, as the flow of water through canals do not reflect the actual
completion of Giyani Water Project. The completion of the project should
resemble the reticulation of water to reservoirs and ultimately to households
of the residents of Giyani.
Equally concerning, poor management and corruption are increasingly denying
the Giyani residents their right to safe water and sanitation. It remains bleak
how the water challenges confronting the province will be resolved in the
foreseeable future under the ANC government.
Overall, the ANC government has dismally failed to ensure that citizens have
access to clean and potable water. Despite water impacting negatively on
every component of economy and society, especially the most vulnerable and
marginalized communities, government remains unresponsive and not willing
to provide a lasting solution to the water crisis.
Amongst the EFF’s most cogent solutions to this phenomenon, is building
government capacity and the abolishment of tenders in order to enhance
service delivery
