-
Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo conducted an oversight visit in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in the North West to assess the level of water pollution in Molopo River and the state of Wastewater Treatment Plants.
The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seitlholo, has questioned the capacity of the North West-based Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality to provide water services.
Seitlholo says there’s a need to assess whether the status of the municipality as water services authority is still intact.
He made the remarks during his visit to the municipality to assess water and sanitation infrastructure.
“We need to look at of the local municipalities, which ones are capable so that that particular status can then be given those particular municipalities. It is not something that the district wants to hear, because you want to keep your status. The reality is that because of the challenges that have now been seen here and been presented, we have to talk about solutions of immediate. So, the district municipality, the burden can be lessened. I did speak to one of our DDGs who is responsible for water and sanitation service management to say have we done technical assessment, can we be able to go to CoGTA and present them with technical assessment because CoGTA is the one that gives WSA status,” says Seitlholo.
Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality Mayor, Khumalo Molefe, says the Department of Water and Sanitation’s decision in 2014 to take away a number of grants has severely affected their water provision capacity.
“The Department of Water and Sanitation took two critical grants which were supposed to be for five years that is the WOSIC and the ARBIG. These grants were taken from the district and were never returned since 2014. Now, we are talking millions of rands taken from the district, but the district is expected to perform as if things are normal. Water provision is expensive so the deputy minister must focus on returning our grants,” says Molefe.
