Kamiesberg desalination plant heading for white elephant status

27 February 2019

The Democratic Alliance in the Northern Cape has called on MEC of COGHSTA, Bentley Vass, to urgently intervene in the Kamiesberg water crisis.

This comes after more than R13 million was allegedly spent on a desalination plant in Garies that is slowly turning into yet another white elephant.

The desalination plant was supposed to be completed in November 2016. The deadline then moved to March 2017. To date, the desalination plant is only 80% complete and the contractor has not handed this site over to the municipality.

As a result of little to no rain in the area, the plant could have relieved many households from the drought that the entire province is experiencing. While the incomplete plant has been semi-operational, it has now come to a complete standstill as a result of the pump breaking down.

In the meantime, chemicals have arrived to cleanse the water, but they are of no use as the pump is not in working order.

Aside from the issue of the pump, the over-supply of pipelines from the desalination plant, has caused many areas in Garies to be left without water for weeks, as the pressure is too low for water to reach the taps of some areas.

Kamiesberg municipal manager, Mr. Rufus Beukes, has conceded that the water crisis boils down to bad management.

Meanwhile, surrounding areas such as Kheis, Twee Rivier and Kharkams, which also fall within Kamiesberg municipality, are also experiencing water issues due to poor management.

It is unacceptable that communities are robbed of their basic right to water because municipalities time and again fail to invest in bulk infrastructure and neglect to employ properly skilled technicians to manage the province’s water infrastructure.

The DA has a plan to ensure uninterrupted water supply to our communities. Even in the middle of the rare and severe drought in the DA-run City of Cape, at no point were water cuts instituted. The City of Cape Town’s response to the drought has now become a renowned case study that other international cities are modelling their response plans on.

This is proof that only change under a DA-led government will ensure that the towns of the Northern Cape can enjoy an uninterrupted supply of water.

Issued by Andrew Louw, DA Premier Candidate, 27 February 2019