Ramaphosa’s pledge to dry villages
Supply of water will be prioritised
President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured Giyani residents that provision of water in 89 villages will be given a priority by his government. Ramaphosa expressed worry about the situation in Giyani, where many residents are still without water despite a multi-billion rand tender to provide water to the communities having been awarded. Ramaphosa was speaking during the ANC’s Limpopo manifesto launch at the Thohoyandou Stadium in Venda, which was also the party’s 107th anniversary celebration on Saturday.
“I’m aware that there are 89 villages that are still without water in Giyani. As we go forward, we will make sure that we solve the water problem experienced by people in the country, especially in Giyani. The provision of water will be given priority,” he said. Ramaphosa said he was working on rooting out corruption where it manifested itself, be it in the public or private sector. He also commended the party’s Limpopo chairperson and premier Stanley Mathabatha for taking action against officials who were linked with the VBS Mutual Bank scandal in which public funds were stolen.
He said he was told earlier during a meeting with ANC veterans in the Vhembe district that the money should be returned so that beneficiaries could get their monies.
“I want to thank premier Mathabatha for putting aside officials of the organisation linked with the collapse of VBS. This is a step in the right direction for the party,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that it was also encouraging that some of the mayors had been removed from their positions after their municipalities had invested monies into the VBS. Mathabatha had earlier said forensic investigations had been instituted to probe what had led to the looting of public funds at the bank. “When we came into government last year we realised that there were thieves.
“We are working hard to root out any form of corruption, theft of public funds and nepotism as a way of renewing the organisation,” Mathabatha said.