26 March 2004
Thousands of residents of Makapanstad, near Hammanskraal in the North West, converged at the Moretele Stadium on Tuesday to celebrate the official launch of a R530-million water supply project.
The Roodeplaat Temba Water Supply Scheme will ensure that sufficient water is available to the rural communities of the Moretele local municipality.
The first phase of the project, which is already in progress and is expected to be completed by March 2005, will increase the Temba water plant’s capacity by a further 30 Megalitres per day.
Phase 2 of the project will see the construction of a 60 Megalitre per day water treatment plant at the Roodeplaat Dam to meet the demands of the nearby City of Tshwane and surrounding areas.
Speaking at the event, Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Ronnie Kasrils said that as the government increased its efforts to deliver clean water, more attention needed to be paid to the proper maintenance of the country’s water infrastructure.
Kasrils said the project would ensure that local communities benefited directly from the projects through job-creation. “I have been assured that construction work to be executed is labour-intensive and that local labour will be used as far as possible under the project,” he said.
Source: BuaNews
