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ActionSA is disappointed to learn that despite claims of completion of the Giyani Water Project by the Department of Water and Sanitation, none of the approximately 55 villages in Giyani or surrounds have access to potable drinking water in their homes as promised.

The announcement of the completion of the project has received positive reception from the public but the 55 villages in Giyani are still faced with severe water scarcity problems in their homes. After 7 years, there is still no relief for the people of Giyani. 

ActionSA has always maintained that the people of Giyani are being taken for a ride by the government, not only was this the case in previous administrations, but it continues today with Minister Senzo Mnchunu- who the President has vowed to take to task should taps continue to run dry past March 2023 in his address to the people of Giyani in December 2022. To date, no action has been meted out against the Minister or the many other delinquent officials who have siphoned millions from this project. 

It was our hope that the completion of the project would signal the end of longstanding suffering of the people of Giyani who have been living under water shortages for years on end. Unfortunately, like many other projects “completed” for the sake of malicious compliance, it brings no real change to lives of their beneficiaries. 

Despite strong views raised by the Minister that I am using the water project as an opportunity to win the voters disingenuously, it would seem that his government is, in fact, using this project for electioneering purposes. Otherwise, why else would the people of Giyani still not see a single drop of water after completion of the project?

ActionSA has consistently called on Senzo Mnchunu and his colleagues to account for the snail’s pace progress and unaccounted millions which have gone missing. 

We have always prioritised the forgotten people of Giyani by applying continuous pressure on the government and calling for various interventions even when it seemed unpopular to do so. 

An ActionSA government vows to provide reliable basic services to communities throughout our country who have been without due to the failures of the current government. It is our policy position that we must ensure that all South Africans have all they require to live a life of dignity and have the prospect of upward mobility.

South Africans deserve a government that relentlessly pursues a pro-poor agenda, a government that cares for them. 

The people of Giyani deserve a government that is committed to ending their plight of water supply shortages. They deserve a government that sets deadlines, makes promises and keeps them. 

Issued by ActionSA Limpopo Provincial Chairperson, Sello Lediga