ActionSA has fired back at former Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink for criticising the new administration's handling of the Hammanskraal water crisis.
Brink claimed that despite the launch of Phase One of the Magalies Klipdrift Package Plant, the City of Tshwane still needs to complete pipe maintenance and repair work before residents can access clean tap water.
He expressed concerns about the project's delay, stating that the first phase was initially set to be completed by the end of October but was postponed.
“This means that there will be yet another delay in getting clean tap water to Hammanskraal residents without an indication of when the work will be completed. This is extremely concerning, since Tshwane had a comprehensive plan to meet its obligations in terms of the Klipdrift project when I left office,” he said.
He also questioned Mayor Nasiphi Moya's absence during the launch and criticised her MMC for utility services, Frans Boshielo, for lacking authority on the project.
However, ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont countered that years of neglect and incompetence by the DA-led government are to blame for the delays.
He accused the DA of prioritising political opportunism over the well-being of Hammanskraal residents, who have been forced to drink contaminated water.
“It appears preferable to the DA that Hammanskraal residents drink dirty and contaminated water, rather than follow proper testing processes. This simple fact is that at the weekend the National Department of Water and Sanitation, City of Tshwane and the Gauteng Provincial Government launched the first phase of the Klipdrift Water Treatment Plant package,” he said.
He said under the Brink leadership and his then MMC for Utility Services, Themba Fosi, no maintenance was done to prepare the Temba water system for the supply of clean water from the Klipdrift plant.
“Brink and Fosi now claim they had a plan. If they had a plan, the system would have been ready. Tshwane Executive Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, and her Executive have been hard at work ensuring that the pipe maintenance work, neglected by Fosi and Brink, is finally implemented,” he said.
Pretoria News