R20m needed for plumbing project

THE municipality will seek an extra R20-million for a project providing plumbing services to poor households in the metro.

The project, consisting of 63 semiskilled plumbers to repair minor leaks in households on the municipality’s Assistance To The Poor (ATTP) programme, was discussed during a meeting of the committee for infrastructure, engineering, electricity and energy on Friday.

A budget of R20.9-million has already been provided, but now the committee is hoping to effectively double this provision in the adjustments budget, bringing the total allocation to R40.7-million.

“[The allocated budget] is too low to sustain the project,” senior director for water and sanitation Barry Martin said.

“The poorer communities are unable to fix leaks [in their houses] or pay someone to do it. This programme fills that gap.”

According to the report discussed in the meeting, a study of 972 ATTP households where repairs had been done had showed an average reduction of 55% in consumption.

“Millions of rands are written off by budget and treasury for [high] water bills [due to leaks] that these households cannot pay. This programme mitigates that write-off,” Martin said.

The committee voted unanimously to support the continuation of the project and the proposal to ask for more funds in the adjustments budget process.