Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Lyle Bouwer
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mantsopa Local Municipality conducted oversight of the Leeuwrivier Project to confirm the progress made towards completion. What we found was a lack of management by the municipality, and no progress on this project, which started in June 2022.
The project has gone from construction to destruction, with water flow severely hampered by the work that has been done. The water rights to this part of the river belong to the Leeuwrivier Water Association, which has not been paid by the Mantsopa Local Municipality for the past 6 months, owing the Leeuwrivier Association over R 400 thousand. Please see the before picture here and the after video and pictures here and here.
From the outset, concerns were voiced about how the necessary work approvals were secured.
The contractor, Serwale Construction, kicked off the project of destruction with no water use license application submitted, and no environmental impact assessment, although the municipality stated that no assessment will be needed for the project as they received an environmental authorisation exemption from the Department of Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA). To compound the matter, there was no safety file on site, and the workers did not have the basic safety equipment.
After asking for the relevant documentation to be presented, the project was put on hold as the contractor said that the documents will be presented. The Leeuwrivier association received an email stating that the Department of Water and Sanitation has issued a letter that all technical reports and documents have been accepted and are being processed and not approved.
Although no approval was received from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the contractor commenced but struck the rock on the riverbank and no work has been done since June 2022. The paperwork presented by Mantsopa Municipality states that the project is 50% completed.
The “construction” of the water weir consists of building a water retaining structure with gabion baskets filled with stones, the supply and installation of pump sets and a security fence according to the municipality.
Leeuwrivier is a river flowing through Hobhouse, a small town in Mantsopa Local Municipality in the Free State. The river had perfect flow with strong streams which allowed Mantsopa Municipality to pump water from it through the Leeuwrivier association providing water for the town in this time of degrading water infrastructure.
A new payment plan as per the new contract was established between the municipality and Leeuwrivier which the municipality failed to comply with once again as the municipality is today six months in arrears with Leeuwrivier.
The DA has submitted letters to the acting Municipal Manager, but they have gone unanswered. We will request our DA MPL, Jafta Mokoena, to address this matter with DESTEA and DWS.