Delayed Launch of Lesotho Highlands Water Project Places Gauteng at Risk
Bongani Baloyi
ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson
While we welcome the awarding of tenders to kickstart phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), ActionSA is concerned that repeated delays in the implementation of the project threaten water security for the residents of Gauteng.
The LHWP, which was set to nearly double the water supply to Gauteng, has faced years of delays following allegations of corruption by former water affairs minister Nomvula Mokonyane who was also once Gauteng’s Premier.
It is now only expected to start supplying water to Gauteng by 2027, seven years after it was originally set to be completed.
If it had been completed by 2020 as originally planned, the water outages residents in large parts of Gauteng experienced the past few weeks could have successfully been avoided.
Instead of taking responsibility for their failure to implement the project that would’ve ensured water security, the state blamed Gauteng residents’ consumption for water disruptions.
The completion of the project could’ve served as an additional buffer to protect Gauteng residents in this water-scarce region as climate change continues to disrupt rainfall patterns.
ActionSA maintains that the responsibility for recent water outages lies squarely in the hands of the state, and the party will continue to place pressure on the government to speedily implement phase two of the LHWP and fix any water leakages to the system.
We believe that the country needs to take a more proactive role in water management as South Africa is a water-scarce region and any delays to critical infrastructure, therefore, threaten water security for thousands of people.
Delayed Launch of Lesotho Highlands Water Project Places Gauteng at Risk
While we welcome the awarding of tenders to kickstart phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), ActionSA is concerned that repeated delays in the implementation of the project threaten water security for the residents of Gauteng.
The LHWP, which was set to nearly double the water supply to Gauteng, has faced years of delays following allegations of corruption by former water affairs minister Nomvula Mokonyane who was also once Gauteng’s Premier.
It is now only expected to start supplying water to Gauteng by 2027, seven years after it was originally set to be completed.
If it had been completed by 2020 as originally planned, the water outages residents in large parts of Gauteng experienced the past few weeks could have successfully been avoided.
Instead of taking responsibility for their failure to implement the project that would’ve ensured water security, the state blamed Gauteng residents’ consumption for water disruptions.
The completion of the project could’ve served as an additional buffer to protect Gauteng residents in this water-scarce region as climate change continues to disrupt rainfall patterns.
ActionSA maintains that the responsibility for recent water outages lies squarely in the hands of the state, and the party will continue to place pressure on the government to speedily implement phase two of the LHWP and fix any water leakages to the system.
We believe that the country needs to take a more proactive role in water management as South Africa is a water-scarce region and any delays to critical infrastructure, therefore, threaten water security for thousands of people.