Share

Editorial: Wasting millions for the sake of wasting

accreditation

We have a lot of money to waste in this ­country. Actually, we don’t, but our ­government appears to think we do.

If they didn’t, why would R200 million worth of metal pipes be left to rust and degrade on the side of the R524 linking Thohoyandou to Giyani, because of a bungled tender?

The pipes were bought to channel water from the Nandoni Dam outside Thohoyandou to the Nsami Dam in Giyani, where the entire town and 90 surrounding villages live with a water supply that is ­intermittent at best. According to Wazimap, about 1 million people are affected.

When City Press visited the area to investigate the Giyani water project nearly two years ago, residents spoke of their struggle with water outages that lasted for days. One woman said her baby daughter died of cholera because she was forced to fetch water for the household from a nearby river.

The project was started in 2009 and, eight years later, it is still unfinished.

Yet we have R200 million to waste. And another R100 million of plastic pipes is lying alongside the same road, waiting for the same thing to happen to them.

How do we stop this?

Previously, we could count on the Treasury’s ­governance, monitoring and compliance unit to stop tender irregularities.

But Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba is on the verge of removing the unit’s powers to identify and correct procurement problems.

All South Africans have a duty to stand up and demand that Gigaba takes the country into his ­confidence about his plans to restructure the ­Treasury. Otherwise, there will be many more pipes like these.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you believe that the various planned marches against load shedding will prompt government to bring solutions and resolve the power crisis?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes
21% - 103 votes
No
79% - 397 votes
Vote