Hammanskraal water crisis a wake-up call, says Mchunu
Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu says the Hammanskraal water crisis can be traced back to 2004.
His remarks come amid of a cholera outbreak in the area, north of Tshwane.
The outbreak has so far claimed the lives of at least 20 people.
Mchunu attended a water symposium at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park on Thursday.
“It’s an ugly history that someone as far back as 2004 said Rooiwal, as a waste water treatment plant, is going to be disastrous unless it gets attended to timely and efficiently. Similar to the story of energy supply in South Africa," Mchunu said.
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He said the outbreak needs to serve as a wake-up call to the government.
“My comment is that this is a wake-up call. And if we don’t wake up now we will never wake up. It’s painful now but we have to stand up and fix the problem once and for all.”
On Wednesday, the City of Tshwane allocated R450 million towards the treatment of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The amount will be allocated over a three-year period.
