Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo says 78 percent of water treatment plants do not function properly in Limpopo.

Seitlholo says the release of partially treated water into water sources increases the cost of water treatment and price for consumers.

Seitlholo was speaking during an oversight visit to a water project at Sekhiming village, outside Giyani in Limpopo. The visit is part of the ministry’s commitment to address water pollution and water supply challenges. 

The northern-most and north-eastern areas of Limpopo are generally semi-arid and dry. Every source of water from boreholes to natural fountains becomes essential to people’s livelihoods.

With the majority of water treatment plants not functioning Seitlholo says it is imperative to get them up and running.

He says the contamination of water sources, mainly through dysfunctional sewage systems and illegal mining, has been a challenge.

“The biggest problem that we have in the context of Limpopo is that 78 percent of their wastewater treatment works are critical and dysfunctional. Green Drop report just 31% of performance. This means that raw or partially treated sewage is going into our water resources, contaminating the water, meaning that it will cost more to treat, and it will cost more to sell in bulk, and it will also cost more for the consumer to purchase. In rural communities we know that a lot of households are indigent households, which is why we are encouraging municipalities to have their own indigent registers in place.” 

VIDEO | Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo assessing water situation in the Waterberg and Mopani Districts

State-owned water utility, Lepelle Northern Water board chairperson Dr. Nndweleni Mphephu says they are working with stakeholders such as municipalities and the private sector to ensure people gain access to clean and safe water.

“We don’t have a challenge of water, the dams are full. Nandoni, De Hoop, all dams are full. The challenge we have is infrastructure, and as Lepelle, we are an entity advocating for public-private partnerships. We want to work with municipalities; we also want to bring private sector because the fiscus is constrained. We need to raise capital to implement infrastructure.” 

The water project in Sekhiming, outside Giyani, was launched by former Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu five years ago. Some residents at Sekhiming say their local sand water project has not been consistently providing water for them.

“We are not satisfied with the service we are getting. The plant that you see here worked for a while in 2020 when it was opened. For a long time, it was not working. Now it started working again two weeks ago. We are getting water, but since last year August it was not giving off water. We had to fetch water from the river.” 

Seitlholo started his oversight visit at the Dooringdraai Dam in Mogalakwena on Friday.