Publications
Partners
Mbombela - Water leakages will be a thing of the past for residents living around Mpumalanga’s capital city after more than 30 unemployed young people were absorbed into the municipality’s water-monitoring programme.
The "foot soldiers" are part of Mbombela Mayor Sibusiso Mathonsi’s Ayangeleta (It’s leaking) programme to monitor water supply, especially in areas like Pienaar where water is supplied in schedules.
"The water ambassadors have been appointed and are stationed on the ground as foot soldiers. Their main function is to assist in the monitoring of water supply. They will also be required to monitor the functionality of boreholes and water tankers," said municipal spokesperson Joseph Ngala.
Ngala said the municipality has, over time, received numerous complaints related to water tankers and allegations of corruption and water sales by its own personnel and contracted service providers.
“This programme is aimed at minimising these bottlenecks,” he said.
He said the programme will also help collect data and generate daily reports on the water supply situation on the ground.
This will ensure that water-cuts and other related challenges are communicated in advance to prevent community protests.
The council will also integrate its own customer care with its service providers, Rand Water and SembCorp Silulumanzi, to improve customer assistance.
Ngala added that the 32 people were employed through the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) guidelines.
According to the most recent Blue Drop Water report, Mbombela local municipality was ranked third for its water management in 2012, scoring 87.68%. This was an improvement from 74.99% in 2011.
