Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
| by Andrew Louw, MPL – DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader |
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| Date: 17 February 2020 |
| Release: Immediate |
| The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is appealing to Premier Zamani Saul to pressurize Sol Plaatje municipality into accepting our offer of technical assistance, to get the Homevale Waste Water Treatment Plant (HWWTP) functioning at full capacity.This comes after Saul reportedly renewed his promise to fix the city at his party’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting over the weekend.This is the third time that the DA is putting our offer, to facilitate bringing a team of experts from the DA-run City of Cape Town to Kimberley to assist the municipality in getting the plant functioning at full capacity, on the table.I visited the HWWTP early last year, with Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Anton Bredell. At the time, ponds were filled with knee-high levels of stagnating muck and the plant was completely dysfunctional. It was obvious that not only was there a lack of expertise to ensure that the plant is properly run but also that an over-bureaucratic system was preventing basic supplies, such as chemicals and safety equipment, from being ordered.Minister Bredell is ready and willing to loan us professional expertise at the click of a button, however, the longer that Sol Plaatje municipality waits to take-action, the harder and more costly it will become to address the city’s sewerage crisis and the greater the risk of adverse incidents happening to workers.While the plant is undeniably a ticking time bomb, with the right guidance it has the potential to be transformed into a first-class plant. The DA has no intention of undermining local expertise by suggesting that people from the Western Cape are in any way superior. The bottom line, however, is that in contrast to the City of Cape Town, Sol Plaatje municipality has a dire lack of capacity and required skills, in addition to being bankrupt. Hence, our proposal makes more sense than trying to bring in outside help at an extra cost.I am therefore appealing to the Premier to speak sense into Sol Plaatje municipality and to get them to take us up on our offer. Together, we can put this country’s multi-party democracy to work and together we can help fix this city.Residents of Kimberley have had to bear the brunt of local municipal mismanagement for far too long. It is high time that the needs of the people are put first. This includes sparing them from routine and unnecessary sewerage spills, that flow onto their doorsteps and mess on their human dignity. |
| Media Enquiries |
| Andrew Louw, MPLDA Northern Cape Provincial Leader082 383 6914 Shelley De WittResearcher082 847 1387 |
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