Minister told to hit the road!

WATER and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu visited Giyani in Limpopo on Monday, 22 April to inspect the Giyani Bulk Water Project, but residents turned him away.

He was accompanied by Limpopo Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs MEC, Basikopo Makamu, who tried to negotiate with them, but they were not interested.

Residents of Gawula also prevented the minister from visiting other reticulation pipeline projects in nearby villages such as Mahlathi, Ndindani, Hlomela, and Khakhala. They demanded that government should provide a tarred road along the D3810 route before handing over any projects or monitoring water projects.

They claimed that former deputy president David Mabuza visited their villages four years ago and promised to complete community projects, but this was not fulfilled.

Resident Tiyisela Khumbuzo told Daily Sun why they turned the minister away.

"We don't want ministers to campaign here because they want to get votes, not to help us. They can only come after the elections as we're tired of their empty promises," she said.

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The residents and minister engaged in negotiations along with the police and municipal representatives, but no solution was found.

Another resident, Nzenyani Maswanganyi, said they're tired of watching contractors take money without doing their job and government officials not monitoring them. "We want them to fulfil their promises," she said.

The Giyani Bulk Water Project started in 2014 but has still not been completed despite promises. In 2023, a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation revealed that the project cost was increased from the approved project budget of R90 million to R2,2 billion.

Reportedly this was done without approval from the minister of water and sanitation. He also expressed support for the investigation into corruption at the project.

Mchunu said the project was resuscitated in 2021 and some projects in some communities are expected to be completed around September 2024. "We're hoping that before the end of the year, the projects will be completed with one already completed. We will escalate the matter of completion of the road to relevant departments," said Mchunu.

Asked whether it's true that ministers only visit village projects before the elections, the minister said people can have their opinions, but it does not mean they are right.