Plans underway to resume construction of reservoir at Driekoppies dam

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12-09-2024
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Capricorn FM
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Ehlanzeni District Municipality Mayor Terrence Shabangu says plans to resume construction of the 10 million litres per day water reservoir at the Driekoppies dam are underway.

This as several areas, including Driekoppies, Langeloop, and Middleplaas, continue to struggle with severe water shortages despite the municipality’s efforts to build a water reservoir project at the dam.

Shabangu says the reservoir, intended to supply water to several villages in the area, had been halted due to internal and external issues, further citing Covid-19 as a major role, leading to site closures as well as community unrest.

He says that the initial contractor had challenges such as high staff turnover, cash flow constraints, and late payments to workers, resulting in site closures and quality defects.

As a result of the continuous challenges, the municipality terminated the contract with the initial contractor.

However to address the issue, Shabangu says they have engaged with the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Nkomazi Local Municipality to complete the outstanding work.  

He says the DWS is processing the district’s request for budget allocation to procure a new contractor.

Shabangu says they expect the funding allocation process to be concluded after the mid-year budget adjustment process later this year.

He added that once the new contractor takes over, completion of all outstanding work is estimated to take eight months.