Work to speed up upgrades at Rooiwal wastewater treatment works through a partnership between Department of Water and Sanitation and the City of Tshwane is on track.
This optimism was shared by Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink who joined Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu to conduct oversight inspections on the facility, including the Klipdrift Package Plant in Hammanskraal.
The wastewater treatment works, identified as the source of dirty water supplied to people in Hammanskraal, came under the spotlight during a cholera outbreak in the township last year in May.
The causes of cholera was, however, not determined despite more than 20 people having died after being hospitalised for diarrhoeal disease or gastrointestinal infection caused by consumption of contaminated water.
The Rooiwal plant was flagged for its lack of capacity to purify waste water, resulting in the sludge being discharged into the Apies River supplying water to the Temba water treatment plant.
Brink said the Development Bank of Southern Africa was contracted as an implementing agent to upgrade the plant.
Work was under way to build a 1000 metre fence to secure the Rooiwal plant in order to stop anyone from sabotaging the project, he said.
“The sedimentation tank is being cleared and an assessment has already been done on the work done by the previous contractor,” he said.
Various activities have been done to pave the way for the actual work of upgrading the plant, he said.
“We don’t have any waste. I am confident that the progress we are seeing here shows that we are on our timelines to upgrade the Rooiwal plant as far as possible.
“And then we are going to need additional funding for the last phase of the project. We have started and that is important to show to the public that things are getting done,” Brink said.
The City has pledged an amount of R450 million towards the upgrades over a three-year period, but previous projections from the department's director-general, Dr Sean Phillips, were that the project would cost R4 billion over the same period.
Brink said the plant upgrading was a long-term project, adding that the City wanted to avoid mistakes made in the past of allowing people implicated in state capture to be appointed.
In February, Tshwane municipal manager Johann Mettler indicated that he requested the National Treasury to blacklist both NJR Projects and Blackhead Consulting companies linked to businessman Edwin Sodi from doing business with the government.
Both companies were linked to a R295 million tender to upgrade Rooiwal as part of Phase 1.
The City terminated the contract following significant problems and delays with the quality of the work on the site due to continuous stalling of Phase 1 of the project in August 2022.
The companies are under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit due to allegations of maladministration and corruption in awarding of the tender.
The department said it was working collaboratively with the City to effectively address the long-standing water challenges affecting most parts of Hammanskraal.
To address water supply and quality challenges, the department said, work was being carried out to refurbish Rooiwal to enable its performance at optimum capacity, as well as upgrading the Klipdrift water treatment plant from 42 to 92 megalitres per day.
Mchunu emphasised the importance of prioritising the provision of clean and drinkable water to Hammanskraal residents.
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