The government is adamant that it is succeeding in refurbishing the Rooiwaal Water Treatment Plant and other nearby facilities as part of supplying residents of Hamanskraal with clean drinking water. Water and sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu visited projects alongside Tshwane Mayor Celliers Brink on Wednesday where they both committed to timelines.
Mchunu said while work on the Rooiwaal is only expected to be concluded in 2026, the nearby Klipdrift Water Treatment Plant is being prepared to provide water in the meantime to end reliance on tankers currently being provided by the City of Tshwane.
“ Its going to take some time but in the meantime people need access to clean water so it was decided, ourselves with Tshwane that we rather provide a package plant that would in meantime get the people of Hammanskraal clean supply of water while we are fixing Rooiwaaal,” said Mchunu. He said delays in the Rooiwaal project were a result strict adherence to the government’s procurement rules and that once completed, the facility will help eliminate Tshwane’s water problems.
“It is associated with the tragedy that we experienced some times ago wherein a number of people lost their lives through deceases that are associated with what has been coming out of that waste water treatment plant. We are pleased that finally we are dealing Rooiwaaal so that Rooiwaaal becomes Rooiwaaal doing its work properly with the waste water treatment plant functioning properly and safely and in a complaint way and I’m sure that Tshwane will appreciate that its something that should be taken care of in future such that no such situations happen. Once that waste water treatment plant gets back to the level of compliance it shouldn’t be allowed to descend and decline once more,” said Mchunu.
The minister and Celliers would not be drawn into calls for the families of the 31 people who died during last year’s cholera outbreak be compensated insisting that after dozens of tests none confirmed the decease originated from Rooiwaal or any of the reservoirs in Tshwane. Mchunu did however acknowledge that the tragedy could have been avoided. “Of course it’s something regrettable and we should have attended to it even before but you know we were not of the same mind with the city of Tshwane,” he said.