The DWS Northern Cape acting provincial head, Kobus Streuders, has acknowledged the slow pace at which tanks are being installed.
THE DEPARTMENT of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has delivered 664 water tanks out of the 826 allocated to the Northern Cape, as well as 70 water trucks out of the 84 allocated.
This is according to the department, which pointed out on Thursday that despite the delivery of the tanks and trucks, the demand for more was growing each week.
Besides the tanks and trucks, a further 5 000 sanitisers have also been distributed in the Northern Cape since the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic started.
In the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, 241 tanks and 20 water trucks have been delivered and Frances Baard received 234 tanks and 29 trucks. In the Namaqua district 30 tanks and four out of the five allocated trucks were delivered, while Pixley ka Seme received 48 tanks and eight water trucks and in the ZF Mgcawu Municipality 77 tanks and 12 water trucks were delivered.
The DWS Northern Cape acting provincial head, Kobus Streuders, has acknowledged the slow pace at which tanks are being installed.
“We are aware of the challenge and this comes as a result of the time it takes to construct a brick-and-cement base structure. It takes two to three days for the structure to dry before it is ready for the tank to be set up and be operational,” said Streuders.
He added that another option that was being used was a steel base structure. “It is faster and quicker to assemble, so this option allows us to accelerate the pace of installation. It is, however, important that the legs are supported by a suitably flat surface and proper foundation so as to prevent the structure from pressing into soft and unstable ground and becoming unbalanced.”
Streuders acknowledged “the incredible work that we have been able to do in just 28 days into the national lockdown of South Africa”.
“This would not be possible if we were not working together as the three spheres of national, provincial and local government, including our water entities, Rand Water and Sedibeng Water,” he stated.
“In his address to the nation this week, on April 21, President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated the government’s commitment to fighting the pandemic of Covid-19 and its effects. The president also announced an extraordinary R500 billion budget of which R20 billion will be made available for, among other things, provision of emergency water to municipalities,” Streuders said.
The provision of water and soap by the government is significant in the fight against the coronavirus and has immensely contributed in curbing the pandemic by allowing citizenry to wash their hands with water and soap and to frequently sanitise and disinfect surfaces.
