Colesberg – For the communities of Colesberg in the Northern Cape, water shortages and lack of proper sanitation will soon be a thing of the past, as Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on Thursday announced multimillion rand water projects for the region.
Alack of water and proper sanitation has been a problem for communities in the region. In some instances, local communities fetch water from dams, while others complain of dirty water coming out of their taps.
Addressing the communities in Colesberg about water issues, Molewa assured residents that government will do everything in its power to ensure that they get running water.
“Plans are also in place to address part of the sanitation backlog in Colesberg with the provision of water borne sanitation,” she said.
Molewa said work has been done to look into the cost estimates for the water projects in the region. “Our responsibility as government is to serve you and we will ensure that you benefit from the water projects.”
According to Molewa, the water projects will include upgrading the old water infrastructure, which was initially designed to supply water to small communities.
“Our focus now is working towards increasing water availability in Colesberg,” she said.
Prior to Molewa’s address, the community shared with the minister the challenges they face with water supply in their areas.
Colesberg is known for the low levels of rain it experiences, thus its dependence primarily on the flow of the Orange River that runs through it.
Molewa told the local communities that they were receiving the same attention as everybody else in the country with regards to water services.
However, she expressed concern that the Umsobomvu Municipality “was currently not monitoring and reporting on non-revenue water and water losses”.
Before the community address, Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas, on behalf of the minister, officially launched the Colesberg Waste Water Treatment Works in the Umsobomvu Local Municipality.
The plant, which was completed last year, was built at a cost of R23 million. This is going to help to purify sewage from the local communities.
Speaking at the launch, Lucas said government will continue to ensure that people have clean water in their areas.
“As government, we will respond to water shortages and ensure that people have clean water in their communities. Water and sanitation are placed high on government’s agenda,” she said.
Umsobomvu resident Maria Salmaan told SAnews that she was happy that they were going to get clean water in the area. – SAnews.gov.za
