R97m to ease water crisis

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is hoping to solve some of its water woes with part of the extra money it received from the national Treasury – money which other municipalities failed to spend in the last financial year.

The R97-million in drought relief funding will also be pumped into projects to help augment the city’s water supply.

The funding will be used mainly for drilling boreholes at Coegakop, Uitenhage, Moregrove, Churchill Wellfields and some Bay hospitals.

At a budget and treasury portfolio committee meeting yesterday, acting chief financial officer Jackson Ngcelwane reported that R67-million of the R178-million cash boost the metro got from Treasury recently would be used to instal water meters and rehabilitate water reservoirs.

Among the allocations are R35-million for the Nooitgedacht Low Level Water Scheme and R11.5-million for upgrading water pipelines.

The money was given on condition that the metro spends it by June 30.

Councillors who serve on the budget and treasury committee agreed to the plan.

Portfolio chairman Retief Odendaal said: “This is a nice bonus that the city has received, but we can’t involve new projects.”

He was responding to calls by councillors to allocate some of the money to other service delivery matters.

Odendaal urged the infrastructure and engineering department to consider using the money to address water losses.

“If you are experiencing water losses, it has to be made up somewhere,” he said.

“It has to be made up as it has an impact on service delivery.”

At a later meeting, a DA councillor who sits on the infrastructure and engineering committee, Charles Garai, questioned why the money was not directed towards fixing water leaks in the metro.

“For me the cheapest way to augment our water support is cutting down on our losses,” he said.

“Why are we not paying more attention to cutting down on water losses? We have two crises in this municipality, a financial crisis and a water crisis.

“Why are we not paying attention to this?”
Infrastructure and engineering boss Walter Shaidi said the rate of water losses in the city would be at the top of the agenda when a delegation from the Treasury visited the metro to determine the municipality’s budget viability. Shaidi did not say when the delegation was expected.

Other highlights in the allocations include the electricity and energy department, which is set to get R56.8-million.

Of this, R13.2-million will be used for public lighting and R17-million for the electrification of informal settlements.

Sports, recreation and arts and culture will receive R8.8-million to upgrade AstroTurf surfaces and some existing sports facilities.

Of this, about R2.4-million is for the Mendi Arts and Cultural Centre in New Brighton.

The metro’s public health department will receive R25-million to upgrade public open spaces and cemeteries.

EFF councillor Zilindile Vena said the allocations had defects.

“The way this budget has been divided is worrying,” Vena said.

“How can it be that only R13-million has been allocated to all wards when there are areas in Uitenhage that need street lighting?”

ANC councillor Rory Riordan asked if some of the R67-million allocated to the infrastructure and engineering department could be used elsewhere.

“When money becomes available we must use it,” he said.

“What’s happening here is that we are moving quite a chunk of this money to the infrastructure department.

“The department is being massively rewarded.

“Water and sanitation are already getting R97-million [in drought relief funding].

“Perhaps we can use this money for other service delivery departments,” Riordan said.