Residents of Nthabalala village in the Makhado Local Municipality say they are tired of not having a tar road because it’s difficult for motorists to access the area, especially during rainy seasons.
Secretary of the Nthabalala Development Forum, Cedric Khorombi says they have been engaging with Roads Agency Limpopo and the Department of Public Works since 2016, and they are requesting that a contractor be appointed so that construction of the D2677 road can begin.
Khorombi says despite numerous talks with both RAL and Public Works, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
RAL’s senior communication manager Danny Legodi has acknowledged that RAL has had several engagements with the community members and the entity is in the final stages of compiling road designs that are expected to be completed by August.
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Some residents in the Vhembe District in Limpopo are concerned about abandoned and incomplete bulk water projects in their area.
Ha-Nthabalala and Ha-Mulima near Elim say they have been without water in their villages despite the more than R150 million bulk water projects in their villages
Progress has come to a halt at the water projects
The projects that are not yet providing water to communities include a R25 million project at Ha-Nthabalala
two projects at Tshino at a cost of 34 and 60 million rand respectively
a R37 million project at Vuwani Manavhela and another one at Vyeboom Masia which cost R20 million
South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) Secretary at Tshino
“The two constructed reservoirs that are supposed to draw water from nearby dams are currently not working.”
which were part of the bulk water supply in the area
He says the multi-million rand water projects at Tshino were started in 2018 and 2020 respectively
He says the community is suffering because of lack of water
“The first one which was situated at Ndiitwani the amount was R34-million
The second one all of them the money as we calculated was R64-million
We feel pain and we feel that government does not care about us even the municipality of Vhembe,” says Nemaungani
Chief Patrick Magobo says a borehole in their area has been locked by the contractor over a pay dispute between the contractor and the municipality
He says the locked borehole has enough water to service the community
but the water is not reaching them because of the dispute.
“We have boreholes with a lot of water and also a dam which was constructed in 2005 but it is not supplying water and we are unable to get water.”
Selina Maduwa says they are concerned about the abandoned water projects in their area
Maduwa says the government spent a lot of money on the projects but they are not benefiting the community
She says they buy water from residents who have private boreholes
“We don’t have water but there are boreholes in our village
money was spent but there is no water.”
The Vhembe District municipality was not available for comment
The two projects costing R12-million and R25-million in Nthabalala and Mulima has become a white elephant as a result of defects and lack of water in the identified water source
Following a public outcry about the millions of rands spent on the abandoned water projects
the Vhembe district municipality made a commitment to revive the two failed projects
The two multi-million rand projects in Nthabalala and Mulima have not yet supplied water to residents due to defects and water scares in the identified water source
Vhembe district municipality’s spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai says they have adjusted the budget to support the two projects
“We have also adjusted the budget of the municipality and set aside the budget of about four-million rand to assist in the intervention in the area of Mulima in terms of the progress
but there’s a work that is going to be done by the district municipality
We acknowledged that there was a challenge in the project.”
Ralushai says the challenge at the project was as a result of nature and no one could be blamed
“We no longer have water in many rivers in the area so the sand-well project gets dry and they are dry
The technical team determines whether it was a contractor fault or just naturally
every cent counts whether it was a hundred rand that hundred-rand counts.”
Spokesperson of the Mulima tribal authority
says they’re hopeful that the municipality will rectify its mistake to ensure that water crisis is resolved
“We are quite happy that there’s money for the project which was started long ago will come to an end and that water crisis will end
The developing forum can engage with the municipality how the money is going to be used.”
The R12-million water project in Nthabalala which was completed in 2014
does not supply water as the well does not have sufficient water
The municipality then constructed another project at Mulima at a cost of R25 million
but attempts to link the two projects have failed and residents are still not getting water