VDM take note of criminal charge, but say they are doing their best

Date: 30 March 2023 By: Andries van Zyl

The Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), by means of its municipal spokesperson, Mr Matodzi Ralushai, said on Wednesday that it took note of the fact that the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) had laid criminal charges against the VDM at the Makhado Police Station on Tuesday.

Matodzi went on to explain, however,  that the VDM as responsible water service authority was at present busy with its responsibilities, since most projects under implementation were related to water and sanitation, of which most were multi-year projects. “Makhado West bulk water supply is 95 % complete and once completed, water supply to [Louis Trichardt] town will improve. Delays due to the Covid-19 outbreak, rain and uncontrollable circumstances have affected the construction process,” Ralushai said.

According to Ralushai, vandalism of water infrastructure in Makhado remained a huge problem and was greatly affecting a constant water supply. “Constant maintenance of the Albasini pipeline caused by leakages of ageing infrastructure is also contributing to water challenges, hence the finalisation of Mowkop [reservoir] to resolve the problem,” said Ralushai. This project is quickly nearing completion.

Like Makhado, Musina also faces severe water challenges. “The Musina situation is also getting the municipality’s attention with the maintenance of boreholes,” said Ralushai. He added, however, that an ageing bulk line also caused severe challenges because of leakages. Vhembe is, however, treating this problem seriously as no alternative water source is available in Musina. Here, too, vandalism of boreholes is a huge problem.

“The municipality will appreciate partnerships with any stakeholders to assist in preventing vandalism of critical infrastructure such as electrical pumps, transformers and boreholes. Working together with district stakeholders, some challenges might be addressed before taking matters to commissions,” said Ralushai. He added, however,  that South Africa was a democracy with an effective constitutional democracy, hence the FF Plus was welcome to raise its concerns. This relates to the criminal charge the FF Plus has laid with the police and the complaint directed to the South African Human Rights Commission.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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