DA demands Mokonyane to be fired as Minister of Water and Sanitation

10 July 2016

Reports of alleged political interference by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project confirms the DA’s previous allegations of political interference and the manipulation of awarding tenders to companies and individuals with connections to the ANC. 

The DA welcomes the investigation by the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, into Nomvula’s “Watergate”. We will request Madonsela to expand her investigation into all major tenders since Mokonyane was appointed by President Zuma as Minister of Water and Sanitation.

The DA informed Parliament in a declaration debate on the Budget of Water and Sanitation in May this year that there are political interference in the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) when the Clanwilliam Dam project of R2 billion was stopped so that it could also go out on tender. This after DWS’s dam construction unit already started with the project to raise the Clanwilliam Dam wall.

It has further come to the DA’s attention that the Director-General (DG) of DWS, Margaret-Ann Diedricks, has recently resigned with immediate effect in the midst of an impending water crisis and replaced by the Department’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with no explanation from Minister Mokonyane.

This could be seen as a battle between the Minister and the D-G on how the department must be run.

In pursuit of the facts in this matter, the DA will request the Public Protector to also investigate political manipulation in the DWS. The resignation of Ms Diedricks does not help the mitigation of water shortages that have been exacerbated by the debilitating drought.

Speculations have begun to swirl, alleging that there has been ongoing pressure from Minister Mokonyane for departmental funds to be redirected for party political ANC electioneering, culminating in Ms. Diedricks’s resignation after refusing to make State resources available for political campaigning.

It raises serious questions about why the Minister elected to appoint Mr. Sifiso Mkhize, the CFO in this position as acting D-G and not the Deputy Directors General (DDG’s) in her Department. Minister Mokonyane must explain all the details surrounding this suspicious move, which would likely give her better access to the Department’s coffers. It is to be noted that Mokonyane is also the ANC election manager and therefore the DA will also be referring this to the Public Protector for investigation.  

A recent report by the Public Protector asserts that it is highly irregular to use State resources for party political purposes and amounts to an abuse of public resources.

Funds must be spent on refurbishing our decrepit water infrastructure as well as ensuring that all communities have access to clean drinking water.

The DA calls on President Zuma to fire Nomvula Mokonyane as Minister of Water and Sanitation, as she is not serious about the water crisis in South Africa. Since her appointment in 2014 she has been obstructive and has no plan to fund the R300 billion needed over the next four years to stop a full scale collapse of water infrastructure in South Africa

Statement issued by Leon Basson MP, DA Deputy Shadow Minister of Water and Sanitation, 10 July 2016