ActionSA takes note of a pledge made by ex-DA Mayor Cilliers Brink to “finish Hammanskraal clean water project and take on water tanker mafia”. Based on (the lack of) steps taken by Brink to address these urgent issues when he was DA-Mayor of the City of Tshwane from March 2023 to October 2024, this pledge carries little meaning.
Brink was Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) in 2019, when a R295-million tender was awarded to Edwin Sodi for the upgrade of Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant. The upgrade was meant to return clean drinking water to the residents of Hammanskraal, who had been dependent on water tankers for nearly 20 years.
In 2020, ActionSA conducted an inquiry into the Hammanskraal water issue, so as to force the DA-led government to act, but the then DA-Mayor Randall Willliams failed to make appearance at the inquiry to receive the damning findings.
Four months into government as coalition partner, ActionSA submitted a motion in Council, to force the DA-led government to investigate the Hammanskraal water issue. Three months later, the contractor abandoned site, and ActionSA demanded that the contract be terminated. In July 2022, ActionSA handed over the Hammanskraal Water Commission Report to the SIU for investigation. A month later, the City confirmed the termination of the Sodi joint venture, and in February 2023, it was reported that the implicated officials were undergoing disciplinary hearing, but no further action was taken.
Under DA-Mayor Randall Williams, the budget allocated to Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant was reduced from R295 million to R14 million. In 2023/4 financial year, money allocated to Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant was further decreased to R10 million, but then adjusted to R253 million upon demand from ActionSA councillors to have this project prioritised.
When cholera broke out in Hammanskraal in April 2023, atleast 17 people lost their lives. The DA-led administration was providing drinkable water through 52 water tankers to informal settlements three times a week and 40 water trucks to formal areas daily in Region 2. Thanks to increased budget allocated to Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant, the newly-elected ActionSA Deputy Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya was able to drive the project from January 2024, while ensuring that the City of Tshwane’s court order to supply drinking water to the affected 59 farms and wards 8, 49, 73, 74, 75 and 76 was honoured.
It should also be noted that under Brink, the City of Tshwane failed to follow due process in applying to National Treasury for the blacklisting of Edwin Sodi and his associated companies Blackhead Consulting and NJR Projects. When ActionSA Dr Nasiphi Moya became Executive Mayor in October 2024, she ensured that the missing documentation was submitted to National Treasury; this matter is currently being pursued by ActionSA MP Alan Beesley in Parliament.
The new administration under ActionSA Dr Nasiphi Moya has also continued communicating progress at Magalies Water Klipdrift package plant and Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant, in conjunction with the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa as the implementing agent.
The delays at Magalies Water Klipdrift package plant stem largely from Magalies Water, and the City is doing it’s best to manage these. This project was never a “DA-led” project as Brink suggests, but is funded by National Department of Water and Sanitation and implemented with Magalies Water. It was not his plan or his project, and it’s nonsense to insinuate that the City is halting it, or that ActionSA has lost interest in ensuring clean drinking water to the residents of Hammanskraal! In fact, ActionSA is pleased to note that progress at Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant is ahead of schedule.
Concerning water tankers, residents are reminded that barely three months into office, ex-DA Mayor Brink declared war on his employees until November 2023, causing undue damage to city property, city finances and city worker morale. The dramatic upswing in non-revenue water losses to about 36% in September 2023 can be attributed to the unprotected strike action, with bulk water losses rising from 27% in March 2023 to 38% in April 2024. By July 2024, the City of Tshwane had a standing backlog of 3,964 water leaks. Brink was Mayor of the City of Tshwane from March 2023 to September 2024; the neglect of water infrastructure during Brink’s term essentially birthed the scourge of water mafia in Tshwane.
Under ActionSA Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, the new administration has prioritized capacity-building, so as to reduce the City’s over reliance on contracted services. R70 million has been allocated for the purchase of water tankers this financial year, to replace trucks that were destroyed during the unprotected strike action during Brink’s tenure as Mayor.
The City is also working hard at preparing city-owned properties for investment, so that more affordable housing can be provided near places of economic opportunity. The exponential growth of informal settlements in the City of Tshwane has put a huge strain on the City’s Human Settlements budget, that is required to provide rudimentary services in the form of chemical toilets and drinking water to all informal settlements. Law enforcement is also being strengthened to prevent further growth of informal settlements in the City.
ActionSA commends the work of the new administration under ActionSA Dr Nasiphi Moya in addressing the on-going Hammanskraal water crisis and in building internal capacity, so as to reduce the City’s dependence on water tankers. Actions speak louder than words.
ActionSA Commends Progress Made by Tshwane in Addressing the Hammanskraal Water Crisis and Building Internal Capacity
ActionSA takes note of a pledge made by ex-DA Mayor Cilliers Brink to “finish Hammanskraal clean water project and take on water tanker mafia”. Based on (the lack of) steps taken by Brink to address these urgent issues when he was DA-Mayor of the City of Tshwane from March 2023 to October 2024, this pledge carries little meaning.
Brink was Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) in 2019, when a R295-million tender was awarded to Edwin Sodi for the upgrade of Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant. The upgrade was meant to return clean drinking water to the residents of Hammanskraal, who had been dependent on water tankers for nearly 20 years.
In 2020, ActionSA conducted an inquiry into the Hammanskraal water issue, so as to force the DA-led government to act, but the then DA-Mayor Randall Willliams failed to make appearance at the inquiry to receive the damning findings.
Four months into government as coalition partner, ActionSA submitted a motion in Council, to force the DA-led government to investigate the Hammanskraal water issue. Three months later, the contractor abandoned site, and ActionSA demanded that the contract be terminated. In July 2022, ActionSA handed over the Hammanskraal Water Commission Report to the SIU for investigation. A month later, the City confirmed the termination of the Sodi joint venture, and in February 2023, it was reported that the implicated officials were undergoing disciplinary hearing, but no further action was taken.
Under DA-Mayor Randall Williams, the budget allocated to Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant was reduced from R295 million to R14 million. In 2023/4 financial year, money allocated to Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant was further decreased to R10 million, but then adjusted to R253 million upon demand from ActionSA councillors to have this project prioritised.
When cholera broke out in Hammanskraal in April 2023, atleast 17 people lost their lives. The DA-led administration was providing drinkable water through 52 water tankers to informal settlements three times a week and 40 water trucks to formal areas daily in Region 2. Thanks to increased budget allocated to Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant, the newly-elected ActionSA Deputy Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya was able to drive the project from January 2024, while ensuring that the City of Tshwane’s court order to supply drinking water to the affected 59 farms and wards 8, 49, 73, 74, 75 and 76 was honoured.
It should also be noted that under Brink, the City of Tshwane failed to follow due process in applying to National Treasury for the blacklisting of Edwin Sodi and his associated companies Blackhead Consulting and NJR Projects. When ActionSA Dr Nasiphi Moya became Executive Mayor in October 2024, she ensured that the missing documentation was submitted to National Treasury; this matter is currently being pursued by ActionSA MP Alan Beesley in Parliament.
The new administration under ActionSA Dr Nasiphi Moya has also continued communicating progress at Magalies Water Klipdrift package plant and Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant, in conjunction with the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa as the implementing agent.
The delays at Magalies Water Klipdrift package plant stem largely from Magalies Water, and the City is doing it’s best to manage these. This project was never a “DA-led” project as Brink suggests, but is funded by National Department of Water and Sanitation and implemented with Magalies Water. It was not his plan or his project, and it’s nonsense to insinuate that the City is halting it, or that ActionSA has lost interest in ensuring clean drinking water to the residents of Hammanskraal! In fact, ActionSA is pleased to note that progress at Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant is ahead of schedule.
Concerning water tankers, residents are reminded that barely three months into office, ex-DA Mayor Brink declared war on his employees until November 2023, causing undue damage to city property, city finances and city worker morale. The dramatic upswing in non-revenue water losses to about 36% in September 2023 can be attributed to the unprotected strike action, with bulk water losses rising from 27% in March 2023 to 38% in April 2024. By July 2024, the City of Tshwane had a standing backlog of 3,964 water leaks. Brink was Mayor of the City of Tshwane from March 2023 to September 2024; the neglect of water infrastructure during Brink’s term essentially birthed the scourge of water mafia in Tshwane.
Under ActionSA Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, the new administration has prioritized capacity-building, so as to reduce the City’s over reliance on contracted services. R70 million has been allocated for the purchase of water tankers this financial year, to replace trucks that were destroyed during the unprotected strike action during Brink’s tenure as Mayor.
The City is also working hard at preparing city-owned properties for investment, so that more affordable housing can be provided near places of economic opportunity. The exponential growth of informal settlements in the City of Tshwane has put a huge strain on the City’s Human Settlements budget, that is required to provide rudimentary services in the form of chemical toilets and drinking water to all informal settlements. Law enforcement is also being strengthened to prevent further growth of informal settlements in the City.
ActionSA commends the work of the new administration under ActionSA Dr Nasiphi Moya in addressing the on-going Hammanskraal water crisis and in building internal capacity, so as to reduce the City’s dependence on water tankers. Actions speak louder than words.