‘Make water plants key points to protect them’

WATER and Sanitation Minister Gugile Nkwinti wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare water treatment plants as national key points.

Earlier this week, Nkwinti told the water and sanitation portfolio committee that he has already made a request to Ramaphosa. He made the statement after the EFF’s Sibongile Khawula raised concerns about protests led by workers where water treatment plants were shut down, resulting in water supply being cut to communities.

She named workers at the Amatola Water, Mhlathuze and Umgeni Water as culprits.

In August, Buffalo City Municipality considered seeking an interdict to prevent disgruntled residents from closing off the Zwelitsha wastewater treatment works project.

The Sedibeng Water Treatment Plant project in Gauteng has experienced delays due to protests from the local community. Nkwinti said the issue of protests was something that needed to be dealt with.

He said protests had occurred the Vaal Dam.

“This is becoming unfortunate. (That is) part of the reason we requested the president to consider making these water treatment works and all water-related facilities (national key points). Water is a security matter,” Nkwinti said.

The minister also said it was becoming common for workers to simply cut off the water supply when they were on strike.

“I have requested the president to declare these as national key points. If we don’t do that, this will continue.”

He said in Sebokeng the community went on strike and blocked access to the treatment plant, a move that led to engineers being unable to access it.

“If it was a national key point, at this would never happen because that would have been secured by the defence force,” he said.

Umgeni Water board member Visvin Reddy has thrown his support behind Nkwinti.

“I fully support the minister’s suggestion that these must be made national key points and be protected by the army,” Reddy said.

Reddy recalled that Ugu District in KwaZulu-Natal was regularly without water when workers went on strike.

“We suspect that there may be officials shutting down water when they have internal issues. I think this is a move in the right direction and I support that,” he said.

Buffalo City Metro spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya confirmed that the metro was recently affected by a protest by Amatola Water workers.

“We would welcome that move because if you are without water everything comes to a standstill,” he said.