The North West provincial government remains steadfast in its commitment to provide clean water to residents in Mahikeng, premier Supra Mahumapelo said on Wednesday.

Mahumapelo launched a R300 million project for the upgrading of the Mmabatho Water Treatment Works as part of the Setsokotsane (whirlwind) Programme.

He said the upgrading of the treatment plant was critical to positively meet Mahikeng's present and future water demands.

"We therefore urge communities to continue using water sparingly and most importantly, to jealously guard against vandalism and stealing of the provided water infrastructure as vandalism and stealing are equal to denying communities their right to basic services which is enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa."

The project is a partnership between the national department of water and sanitation, the provincial government and Mahikeng local municipality.

The upgrading phase, which started immediately after its launch, would see the plant's capacity to release clean water to communities residing in Mahikeng being upgraded from 20 million litres to 30 million litres per day by November 2016.

About 48 temporary employment opportunities would be created for local communities, of which 13 would be for skilled labourers and 35 for unskilled ones.

The project would be implemented in phases and would include the construction of a 25 mega-litre reinforced reservoir at the existing Lokaleng pump station site, and the construction of approximately 11km of gravity pipelines from the new Lokaleng reservoir to directly serve certain parts of Mahikeng. These two projects were earmarked to start in 2016.