The MK Party (MKP) will be writing to parliament, Gauteng legislature and the Tshwane council to demand accountability for the “lies” that Hammanskraal would soon receive clean drinking water.
On Tuesday, the City of Tshwane, in partnership with the department of water & sanitation, announced significant progress in the project to provide clean water to Hammanskraal residents.
This after the government announced interventions to address water issues in Hammanskraal last year when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the area after 40 people died in a cholera outbreak in June last year.
Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya said on Tuesday that community members in Mandela village, Marokolong, Ramotse, Kekana Gardens, Kudube Unit 9, Babelegi Industrial and Bridgeview informal settlement would soon receive clean potable water.
She said final tests were being conducted on the Klipdrift Waste Water Treatment Plant, a R750m project installed while the Rooiwall Waste Water Treatment Plant was being repaired. Once completed, an announcement would be made on when water would be safe to drink.
According to the MK Party, the Tshwane mayor and presidency have spread misinformation about the safety of Hammanskraal water while knowing drinking it would endanger the lives of residents.
Spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said in June 2023, Ramaphosa had promised that a new water system, managed by Magalies Water, would be operational within six months to ensure clean drinking water by the end of December 2023.
“This promise was not kept,” Ndhlela said.
The timeline was then moved from September to October this year, but these deadlines “came and went without resolution”, Ndhlela said.
“The latest commitment from the president and the Tshwane coalition [government] is now set for the end of December, which, based on the government’s track record, is bound to fail yet again.”
He said the Tshwane mayor had made “reckless” statements to “score cheap political points” while endangering lives in a community mourning the loss of 27 people to waterborne illnesses.
The party intends to write to parliament’s portfolio committee on water and sanitation, the Gauteng provincial legislature and the Tshwane council to demand accountability for the “lies perpetuated against the people of Hammanskraal”, Ndhlela said.
“The MK Party remains steadfast in its commitment to the people of Hammanskraal and will continue to demand urgent action, not more excuses, from those responsible for delivering essential services. This failing government must be reminded that access to clean water is a fundamental human right, not a privilege.”
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