Saving water is urgent - Grocott's Mail

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22 February 2019 • Vol. 149 Issue: 06

SAVING WATER IS URGENT

1. Make use of indigenous plants and remove invasive species.

2. Reduce the size of your lawn.

3. Only flush toilets if it is necessary. Saving water should not make you sick.

4. Remove exotic plants and invasive species from your garden.

5. Plant plants that retain water and do not need a lot of watering to stay healthy.

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Givers bring hope

Gift of the Givers Chairperson Dr Imtiaz Sooliman reaches out to congratulate the team that struck water opposite the Waainek Water Treatment Works at 115 metres. From left are Edward Molithapelo, site manager Alfred Mahlambi, hydrologist Gideon Groenewald and Sooliman. Photo: Steven Lang

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WATER CRISIS: HOW TO HELP

Here is a list of organisations that are collecting and/ or distributing water in the town along with the contact people.

GIFT OF THE GIVERS

Dr Imtiaz Sooliman 083 236 4029

Gift of the Givers, Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg, Account number 052137228, Branch Code 057525. Send deposit slip to [email protected] for ac- knowledgement.

PAM GOLDING PROPERTIES

Daphne Timm 082 809 4283 or [email protected]

Anyone wanting to deliver to PE/Kenton/Port Alfred and East London Pam Gold- ing Properties offices Daphne Timm will drive and collect. Anyone driving through Grahamstown at any time is welcome to drop off water at the Pam Golding offices as well.

ROUND TABLE 11 (GRAHAMSTOWN)

Ryno van Rooyen 072 141 4911 or [email protected] Greg Wilmot 072 264 1452 or [email protected]

Round Table are co-ordinating the transport of drinking water from Port Elizabeth and East London and its distribution to areas of most need.

ROTARY CLUB OF GRAHAMSTOWN SUNSET Izak Smuts 046 6222 297.

Rotary Club of Grahamstown Sunset, First National Bank Grahamstown, Bank Code 210 717, current account, Account name GBS Mutual Bank, account number 5232 2003 436, reference 028427190061.

Information about the water crisis can be found here:

http://www.makana.gov.za/water-crisis/

2 NEWS Grocott’s Mail

22 FEBRUARY 2019

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FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY

Partly cloudy. Moderate easterly wind.

Temperature: Min 15°C Max 27°C Tides: low tides 11:49 23:57 high tides 05:41 17:57 SATURDAY

Partly cloudy. Light SSW wind.

Temperature: Min 16°C Max 29°C Tides: low tide 12:27

high tides 06:19 18:34 SUNDAY

Partly cloudy. Light SSW wind.

Temperature: Min 13°C Max 26°C Tides: low tides 00:32 13:04 high tides 06:57 19:10

MONDAY

Partly cloudy. Light ENE wind.

Temperature: Min 15°C Max 28°C Tides: low tides 01:06 13:43 high tides 07:37 19:50 TUESDAY

Partly cloudy. Moderate SSW wind.

Temperature: Min 15°C Max 30°C Tides: low tides 01:44 14:30 high tides 08:22 20:44 WEDNESDAY

Partly cloudy. Moderate WSW wind.

THURSDAY

Partly cloudy. Light SW wind.

Temperature: Min 13°C Max 23°C Tides: low tides 04:47 18:42 high tide 11:38 FRIDAY

Sunny. Light southerly wind.

Temperatures and tides were correct at the time of going to press

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Thick smoke fills the air as the municipal landfill site, adjacent to the Grahamstown Riding Club, burns on Thursday 21 February. Users said they had been unable to access the site for two days, with the smoke so thick at the entrance it was impossible to see where they were driving. Photo: Steven Lang

Rhino trial nears end

By SUE MACLENNAN

The Ndlovu rhino-poaching trial will resume in the High Court in Makhan- da (Grahamstown) on Monday 11 March, for argument and possible judgment. Jabulani Ndlovu, Forget Ndlovu and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu were arrested at Makana Resort outside Makhanda in June 2016. They are charged with counts of theft, contravening environmental laws and the Medicines Control Act, and contravening the Firearms Control Act in connection with 13 poaching

incidents near Makhanda, Jansen- ville, Graaff-Reinet, Cradock and Al- exandria.

Senior Counsel for the defence, Terry Price, informed Judge Jeremy Pickering that his clients had run out of funds and that on the basis he had been on the case thus far, would see it through to its conclusion on a pro bono basis.

Judge Pickering said the case should be set down for argument and possibly judgment in the week start- ing 11 March.

Vandals hit substation

By SUE MACLENNAN

For the second time in less than a month, residents in parts of Somer- set Heights yesterday experienced power surges after an electrical substation was broken into and vandalised. Residents in areas surrounding Gowie Dam reported power surges shortly after 7am on Thursday 21 February.

Makana electricians who arrived soon after discovered that the Win- canton Road substation had been broken into and the neutral cable from the transformer room stolen.

In a statement, Makana Municpal- ity said electricians had replaced the

vandalised parts and a case of theft and damage to property had been opened. Residents reported power returning around 6.30pm.

Damage estimated to come to mil- lions was caused by a power surge in Oatlands North and Somerset Heights on the night of Monday 28 January. Residents affected described the incident as “like a war” as ap- pliances exploded, burst into flames and thick, acrid smoke filled homes.

Grocott’s Mail understands that discussions are under way between residents, a private security company and the municipality about plans to properly secure the substation.

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Grocott’s Mail

22 FEBRUARY 2019

NEWS 3

Grahamstown

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Call for extra water care

GROCOTTS MAIL REPORTERS

B

usinesses and NGOs are using their national muscle to urgently collect water for Makhanda (Grahamstown) as unexpect- ed technical problems at both east and west supplies mean the city must drastically and immediately reduce its water use during the next two days.

This comes as humanitarian organisation Gift of the Giv- ers announced a successful borehole sunk near Waainek Water Treatment Works, and its teams intensify deliveries of bottled water to areas affected by outages and inter- rupted supply.

Damaged filters at James Kleynhans water treatment works mean the plant will be operating at half its capacity for the next two weeks and the Howieson’s Poort pump station will be out of operation for two days after a leak- ing pump flooded the facility.

James Kleynhans serves areas mostly in east Makhanda and Howieson’s Poort feeds Waainek which supplies water to areas in the west of the city.

The Waainek supply was expected to be up and running by Monday, the municipality told Grocott’s Mail, again producing 8 megalitres a day.

At half-capacity, James Kleyn- hans would continue to produce 5ML a day. If residents used water sparingly - 25 litres a day per person (or 100 litres for a four-person household) - Waainek could provide water for the two days that the Howieson’s Poort pump station is down,

Urgent hunt for groundwater

In a press briefing on Monday 18 February, Makana Execu- tive Mayor Mzukisi Mpahlwa and Gift of the Givers hydrologist Dr Gideon Groenewald confirmed that the search for useable groundwater in Makhanda (Grahamstown) had begun. Groenewald said Gift of the Givers had begun the mapping and exploration process of Makhanda’s existing boreholes that morning, and hoped to strike ‘liquid gold’ by that evening.

Mpahlwa said Makana had a comprehensive plan for the future. When Settlers Dam fell below the level it could be pumped, the west side of town would be switched to the Glen Melville system. He confirmed that James Kley- nhans was normally able to supply 10 megalitres a day drawn from the Glen Melville

Dam, but that the quality of the water was sub-standard due to ongoing upgrades.

The crisis plan has been that come Day Zero for Makhanda west, all of Makhanda would operate on the Kleynhans system and the supply to west and east would alternate, two days at a time. Mpahlwa said that water trucks would then be dispatched to areas without water for those two days.

Broken filters at James Kleynhans, however, mean this crisis plan is currently unworkable. The facility is currently operating at half its 10-megalitre capacity.

At Monday’s press briefing, Groenewald was hopeful, stating that the plan was to find existing boreholes and “marry them with existing infrastructure”.

Once water was sited, it would be tested for yield and chemistry to determine if it would be a sustainable and healthy source for Makhanda.

If there was useable water from these boreholes but not connection available to main infrastructure, the borehole would serve as a spring for residents to collect from.

Groenewald emphasised that examining existing boreholes in Makhanda (Graham-

stown) and cleaning them properly was a priority. “If you know what you’re doing, Gra- hamstown sits on some of the best aquifers in the country,”

he said.

He said Gift of the Giv- ers could supply Makana with raw bulk water for the Waainek plant. The bulk water would come from boreholes located close to Waainek and would be processed through the plant. Groenwald said the drilling that yielded water at 115 metres at a site less than 500 metres from the treatment works is expected to yield 20 000 litres a day.

He emphasised grave concern for Makana’s drought should March see no sufficient rainfall. By 6.30pm the Gift of the Givers team had drilled a considerable depth into Wit- teberg Quartzite opposite the Waainek plant. Groenewald said they would continue drilling to a depth of 146 metres and would also explore other sites. This week, Groenewald and the drilling team continued to explore and clean.

Help for people and animals

The town has seen a lot of activity this week, with several local businesses and individu-

al residents hiring contractors to drill boreholes on private premises.

Wednesday 20 February saw Founder and Chairper- son of the Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman arrive in Makhanda. He said the organisation had brought in 48 bails of fodder from Howick in KwaZulu-Natal, to distribute to emerging farmers in Ma- kana. “Thousands of animals are dying,” Sooliman said.

Following Wednesday’s press conference the fodder was carefully distributed to emerging farmers, Makana commonage areas and six Ma- kana farms.

Sooliman emphasised the organisation’s immediacy in their response to natural dis-

asters, and said while long- term planning was important, it was essential to act without delay in a crisis. “The question is, ‘What are you doing this afternoon?’, not what are you doing in three years time,”

he said. Responding to criti- cism that bottled water was a short-term solution, Sooliman said, “Bottled water is not ideal, it is true, but under the circumstances, it is the only thing available instantly.”

As the organisation has remained in the area, they have continued to hear about issues facing rural Makana communities like Riebeeck East, as well as other Eastern Cape towns. In response to this, Dr Sooliman said he had Continued on Page 7

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4 NEWS Grocott’s Mail

22 FEBRUARY 2019

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ERRATUM

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING CHANGE TO REFURBISHMENT OF GRAHAM- STOWN 11KV ELECTRICAL NETWORK PHASE 1 -TENDER NUMBER MLM/2018-19/INFRA/006

• The closing date has been moved to 1 March 2019

• The tender was advertised on the 8th of February 2019 and the initial closing date was 22 February 2019 For any question regarding the matter please do not hesitate to contact Ms Z.Gxowa (scm manager)

Issued by office of the Municipal Manager: Mr. M. Mene M. MENE

Sibhiyozela ukutyeba

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NOMPHELO FANGA ADMINISTRATOR Iqaqa aliziva kunuka.

MTUTUZELI ZIQWAYI PASTOR Inkungu ilala kwintaba

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MTHOBELI ZIQHWAYI CLEANER Unthi ugotywa uselula.

Muni roll under fire

By STEVEN LANG

“Y

ou will be inundat- ed with objections”

warned a woman at a municipal public participa- tion meeting held at the City Hall on Monday evening. She was one of more than a hundred angry ratepayers sharing their opinions on the latest property valuation roll with Makana’s new Chief Financial Officer, Gerard Goliath and professional valuer, Salwen Butler.

The meeting was held in terms of the Municipal Prop- erties Act of 2004 which requires the municipality to hold public meetings to explain the Certified General Valuation Roll. Goliath chaired the meeting and Butler represented Sizanane Consulting, the company entrusted with valuating the more than 20 000 properties in the Makana Municipal- ity.Ratepayers expressed their dismay at the idiosyncratic way that the valuations were done without any apparent consistency. The Grahamstown Residents’ Association Secre- tary, Tim Bull, said there was widespread unhappiness about the valuations process while advocate Jock McConnachie said the roll, “… is riddled with inconsistencies and anoma- lies”. His demand that “this roll should be rejected out of hand” was met with vigorous applause.

Many bizarre titbits in the roll could have been amusing if they were not so serious, such as classifying the Settlers Monument as an industrial property or categorising several commercial enterprises in African Street as residences.

Residents shared dozens of accounts of similar sized properties located in the same area but were assessed at vastly dif- ferent rates. This countered Butler’s claim that he used Geographic Information Sys- tems (GIS) data to calculate property size which was then rated at a consistent per square metre rate.

Most people present, however, were upset because their valuations were increased sub- stantially even though the market value of their properties had dropped. To make matters

worse, most ratepayers blame the municipality for declining market prices.

They said that Makana Mu- nicipality’s inability to deliver basic services such as water, sanitation, garbage collection and road maintenance is having a detrimental effect on property values and on businesses.

Chairperson of the Graham- stown Residents’ Association (GRA), Philip Machanick, com- mented outside the meeting that, “From residents’ perspective, valuations should not be increased since by all accounts property values are not rising.

It is up to the municipality to make the case that values should increase, not us.”

Ratepayers accused Butler of lying when he said that al- though he had not met with the local business sector, he had met with estate agents. He did not seem to reckon with almost all high-profile estate agents being present in the audience. They stated categori- cally that they had not met with anyone from Sizanane.

Butler specifically said he had consulted with the Remax agent – a statement that was denied by the representative in audience.

The draft roll uses an old trick to make increases in

property valuations seem not so bad. It is common practice to calculate a percentage increase based on the previous value. One of the ratepayers illustrated this ruse by asking:

“If the value of a property was increased from R1 million to R2 million, how much is the percentage increase?”

Everyone shouted in unison that it was ‘one hundred percent’. However, according to the municipality’s system, the increase was only fifty percent because the percentage was calculated on the new valuation.

In a similar way, a 25% increase on the old valuation is calculated as only 20% on the new valuation.

Goliath acknowledged that the municipality was not happy with the efforts of Sizanane, but in trying to find something positive about the new roll he said, “Not all the property valuations are incorrect”.

Machanick reflected the views of the majority of residents who believe that the municipality inflated rates as a means of adding to their depleted coffers. He said that

“We understand there is a bal- ance between the municipality trying to increase revenue and valuations that reflect property values”.

Goliath countered this view stating adamantly that, “I don’t want to milk the ratepayer anymore.”

He explained that within the next week or two, residents will be receiving Section 49 letters advising them of the new rates and how to lodge objections. He added that the new valuations have to be applied as from July 2019.

As an outcome of Mon- day’s meeting, a small group residents agreed to meet with the new CFO and with Butler to discuss a way of resolving the widespread dissatisfaction about the valuations roll.

Goliath encouraged residents to write to the municipality with queries and complaints saying that “no objection goes unanswered”.

NOW SEE HOW MUCH YOUR RATES INCREASED CSS Geographical Information

Specialists used data from Makana Municipality’s rates

spreadsheet to make two graphics that provide an at-a-glance view of precentage

increases across Makhanda (Grahamstown), as well as comparative market values across the city. Find the maps

and the explanation at http://bit.ly/GrocRates This graphic shows by what percentage the rates have increased. Graphic: CSS Geographical Information Specialists.

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Grocott’s Mail

22 FEBRUARY 2019

NEWS 5

PUBLIC NOTICE CALLING FOR INSPECTION OF THE GENERAL VALUATION ROLL AND LODGING OF OBJECTIONS.

Notice is hereby given in terms of section 49(1) (a)(i)(ii) read together with section 78 (2) of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004 (Act No.6 of 2004) , herein after referred to as the “Act”, that the General Valuation Roll effective for the financial years 2019 to 2024 is open for public inspection in the designated areas of the Municipality as mentioned hereunder. The Roll will be open from 20 February to 01 April 2019 and can be inspected during office hours between 08:00 to 16:00 from Monday to Thursday and 08:00 to 15:00 on Friday.

o Municipal Offices o Libraries

o Municipal Website: www.makana.gov.za

An invitation is hereby made in terms of section 49(1) (a)(i)(ii) of the Act, that any owner of property or other person who so desires should lodge an objection with the Municipal Manager in the prescribed manner in respect of any matter reflected in or omitted from the Valuation Roll within the above-mentioned period.

Attention is specifically drawn to the fact that in terms of section 50(2) of the Act, an objection must be in relation to a specific individual property and not against the Valuation Roll as such.

Forms for the lodging of an objection are available at the following address, Municipal Of- fices: 86 High Street, Makhanda / Grahamstown.

The complete prescribed objection forms must be returned to the same address as indicated above before 16:00 on the closing date of 01st April 2019, please note that objections lodged after the closing date will not be considered.

For further details and enquires please contact Ms Gcobisa Stuurman at 046 603 6009 / 6111 or email: [email protected]

MA MENE

MUNICIPAL MANAGER

Sun City in the shadows

Sun City is an informal settlement located on a dump site; with one working tap to service up to 500 residents. The day our reporter visited, there was no water in the community. Photo: Kathryn Cleary

By KATHRYN CLEARY

I

n November 2018, following two weeks of heated sessions in the Makana Council, the topic of Sun City remained up in the air. De- spite having been submitted correctly, a motion of question on the informal settlement was twice excluded from the agendas of council meetings, leading to a furious DA stag- ing successive walkouts and, in the backlash, the Speaker calling armed police into the Council chamber to remove senior DA councillors Mlindi Nhanha and Brian Fargher.

In September 2018 Gro- cott’s Mail reported that residents of Sun City, which is located on top of a former landfill site, were facing service delivery issues affecting the community’s sanitation. Due to the settlement’s location, Makana is unable to install sewerage lines, so residents must use the bucket system. However, residents told our reporter that their buckets were seldom collected and sanitised.

Makana was scheduled to collect the waste on a fort- nightly basis but could not do so due to mechanical issues with the sanitation truck, according to acting director of infrastructure at the time Kelello Makgoka. As a result, residents had taken to dump- ing waste in nearby bush.

Three months later, in Feb-

ruary 2019, Sun City residents took to barricading the road, raising the red flag once again on the abhorrent sanitation conditions the community faces. The roads were blocked for days with burning rubbish, tyres and buckets filled with maggot-infested human waste. Residents told Grocott’s Mail that the buckets had not been collected since the beginning of January.

Dustin Davies lives in Sun City with a family of three children. Davies spoke to our reporters emphasising the horrifying sanitation conditions that residents had been living in for months at a time.

“Today I decided to represent Sun City. We are doing this protest and as you can see it is peaceful, it’s not vio- lent,” said Davies last week.

“The bucket system is overflowing here, that is why you see us here doing this protest- ing.”

Davies said that the community met with the Ex- ecutive Mayor and other Directors at the end of Janu- ary. Makgoka, whose ap- pointed position is Director of Public Safety and Community Services, confirmed this, stating that the meeting had addressed water, sanitation and refuse in Sun City.

Residents stated that the last time their buckets were collected was early January, and that Makana told them

that the sanitation truck was broken. Makgoka confirmed this. On Wednesday 13 Feb- ruary, residents continued to protest, but their buckets had been emptied.

As a result of the South Afri-

can Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) strike, Makana had to find another service provid- er to collect the buckets, said Makgoka. “We are trying our best given the situation,” he said. Resident Freddie Smith

or “Bossy” as the community calls him, assured our reporters that the protest was peaceful, but said the community would not stop until Makana addressed their grievances.

“There are some other is-

sues in this protest [besides the buckets],” said Smith.

“The taps and the lights, because it’s very dark here.”

Continued on Pages 8 & 9

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6 OPINION & ADVICE Grocott’s Mail

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LETTERS to the Editor and COLUMNS

Grocott’s Mail is aware of a letter that on Tuesday 19 Febru- ary ‘went viral’ on social media referring to a “circular relat- ing to the toxicity of the present Makana Municipality water”

– and attributing Grocott’s Mail as the source. Grocott’s Mail dissociates itself from the letter emailed to local schools.

Subsequent ‘damage control’ correspondence to parents and other stakeholders suggested Grocott’s Mail had erred.

This is not the case. The article said there was e.coli in the water according to tests done in November and December.

The email implied that the tests applied to current water quality. This is incorrect.

We believe that the intention of the email writer and the people who subsequently circulated it was well meaning, but the claims made about the water quality attributed to us in the letter do not match what we wrote and published.

We pride ourselves on rigorously checking our information, and sources, and on imparting news with fairness and bal- ance. We are the first to admit any mistakes of fact and make any corrections if needed. However, this was not the case in terms of this reporting about water quality tests and about and slow reporting of results of water testing by the municipality.

As is clear from the first line of the original text, the article is about water tested late in 2018, and highlighted not just the poor results from those tests, but importantly, that this information was not shared with the public until last week.

We heard about these results in the middle of last week and deliberately held the article back for a few days days because a) we’d been given a verbal assurance that the water supply in the municipality is currently safe and b) we wanted to make sure Makana had the opportunity to 100% confirm the information they published about the November and Decem- ber results last week, and let us know why the results were not made available much sooner.

We were also informed that current water testing results would be available Wednesday 20 February and anticipated updating the article to reflect current results. We would like to think that the publication of our article on Monday, and our focus on the non-disclosure of previous poor results, prompted an earlier release of these results for water drawn for testing in February this year – but unfortunately it was more likely the social media activity around the letter. When we were informed about the current results from the water samples tested early in February, we immediately updated the article.

Grocott’s Mail will continue to do the work of seeking out and sharing information about issues affecting the community that we’re a part of.

For more information, please read the full statement that was published online on 20 February.

– This week’s editorial is written by Sue Maclennan

Testing the truth

Phindiswa Deu (QueenP) of QueenP Entertainment and Events visited Ethembeni Old Age Home on Valentine’s Day (14 February) to share some love with the Senior Citizens and residents of Ethembeni. Photo: Supplied

Thank you from Child Welfare SA Grahamstown

We at the Child Welfare SA Grahamstown are absolutely delighted to acknowledge the receipt of fund of R14,000.00 from the Grocott’s Cheer Fund.

We would like to thank the many individuals who contributed to this worthwhile cause, as well as the bigger donors including GBS Mutual Bank and the Pro Carmine Choir, whose Christmas Cheer Concert audience gave generously.

Your financial support helps us continue in our mission and to assist the vulnerable children in our community.

The generous support of this incredible annual fund makes

it possible for our organization to exist and to make the community a better place to live. Thank you again for your support of our work at Child Welfare SA Grahamstown and for the caring commitment of all the people involved with the Grocott’s Cheer Fund.

We are very appreciative.

Woineshet Bischoff

Director of Child Welfare SA Grahamstown

GOOD IDEA

Be disturbed – Be merciful

It is common knowledge that we here in this town are facing a crisis. The water short- age is impacting on us all. No one can walk by the heaps of rubbish and pretend that nothing is wrong.

Schools are struggling, with children being sent home because there is no water for the toilets, to wash hands or to cook food. Many homes have been without water for days and days. We need rain. We need compassion from each one of us to help where we can. We need wisdom on the part of leaders to address the crisis.

Wisdom. Choosing the right path; deciding what is best. How to live wisely in the midst of our troubled world.

The opposite of wisdom is foolishness, choosing the wrong path, a road that leads to destruction. Some of the books of the Old Testament are called “Wisdom Litera- ture” – the book of Proverbs, the Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes.

They present us with choices between right and wrong, finding our way through life in difficult circumstances. They often contrast the wise person as one who follows God’s ways, who trusts in God, with the foolish person, who does not follow God and God’s ways.

However, in the “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 6:17-26) Je- sus gives another perspective.

Instead of speaking words of comfort and assurance, he speaks words that are deeply unsettling and disturbing. He first speaks to those disciples who are poor, the hungry, the grieving, the excluded.

“You are blessed”, Jesus assures them, “because the kingdom of God is yours, you who are hungry will be satisfied, you who are mourning will laugh, you who are in- sulted and hated will have a rich reward in heaven”. Then he speaks to those disciples who are rich, who are well fed, who are happy, who are popular.

“Woe to you”… “Alas for you”…” You have had your time of happiness; you will go hungry; you will mourn and weep. Your popularity is a sham because that is how the false prophets were treated. I am sorry for you.”

Imagine a stunned silence.

Imagine uncomfortable glanc- es from some. What is he on about? This is not what we came to hear. And from others, the dawning realisation that perhaps things would change.

Perhaps there was hope.

Perhaps God did see suffer- ing and hopelessness. Perhaps there was a future. Perhaps poverty and hunger and strug- gle were not to be a sign of God’s curse or condemna- tion after all. Perhaps wealth and riches, pleasant as they

were, were not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing, but of something else. The need for compassion. The call for mercy. The reminder to look to God. To trust not in one’s own strength and ability and achievements, but to trust in God. To delight not in arro- gance and power, but in hu- mility.

So let us be disturbed. All too often, people think that God’s blessings are seen in wealth, in comfort, in pros- perity. People are told, “Be faithful, and God will pour out riches upon you. Wealth is a sign of God’s blessing.” But Jesus says otherwise. He looks at those who are struggling, who are powerless, who are without water, without food, who are without opportuni- ties, and he pronounces blessing on them.

On you and me. He says that there is a future. That this is not the only reality. That things will turn. These words of Jesus resound in our time as words of change and hope.

He challenges the complacen- cy of the rich, those who have all they need, those who are comfortable, those who do not know what it is to be anxious for tomorrow.

Let us be merciful. These words of blessings and woes, these uncomfortable words, are for us today, here in Makhanda, Grahamstown. To question. To disturb. To be dis-

turbed. To be unsettled. They give us a picture of a new community, formed by the grace of God, where we look beyond ourselves to those around us, brothers and sisters in Christ, people in need. Desperate.

And they call us to especially to show mercy. To be changed and transformed. To share.

If we have water, and we choose to take a 20 minute shower, knowing that our town is on the brink of no water – is that mercy? If we have food and shelter, if we are happy and content, and we know that others have none, or if we have doors of opportunity open for us, but we see that those doors are closed for others, and we do nothing – is that mercy? So let us do what we can. Let us al- low ourselves to be disturbed, shaken, uncomfortable, unsettled, have sleepless nights. Be- cause in this uncertain space of discomfort, God is speaking to us.

Let us be hopeful. You and I are invited to trust, believe, have faith, commit our ways to God, to seek God’s will in all things. To know that in our hunger and poverty, in our struggles, God sees and loves and embraces and promises a future, new life, a way for- ward.

The Very Reverend Andrew Hunter Dean of Makhanda (Grahamstown) Cathedral

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Grocott’s Mail

22 FEBRUARY 2019

NEWS 7

INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS DIVISION INVITATION TO TENDER

Rhodes University, Infrastructure and Operations Division invites all suitably qualified service providers to respond to the invitation for the tender below:

CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE FOR RHODES UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS : PHASE 3

The project will take place at the premises of Rhodes University in Grahamstown and requires a contractor well established close to Grahamstown. The project involves inspecting and testing of the electrical installation for Rhodes University Buildings for compliance with SANS 10142-1 : wiring of premises, latest edition. Upon completion of testing, the electrical contractor must produce a list of remedial work required to achieve compliance and produce a COC per distribution board per building upon completion of remedial work.

Tender documentation will be available on the Rhodes University eProcurement website on payment of a R500 non-refundable deposit. Tender documents will only be released after proof of payment has been received. Proof of payment must be emailed to [email protected].

Payment must be made to the following bank account:

o Account name: Rhodes University o Bank: First National Bank o Branch: 210717 o Account number: 621 4550 3076 o Reference: 12500 798 183

Information about registering on the website as a Bidder can be obtained from the Procurement Department as per the details below:

• Contact person: Mrs W Lombard;

Email: [email protected]

A compulsory tender’s site inspection will be held at 11h00 on Thursday, 28 February 2019 at the 35 South Street, Rhodes University, Somerset Street, Grahamstown.

Tender submission: Tenders must be submitted online through the eProcurement portal. Responses must adhere to the required format, to enable Rhodes University to adjudicate all bids effectively and fairly. Late submission, manual, email, fax and telephonic submission will not be considered.

Close of Tenders: Friday, 15 March 2019 at 13h00.

ONLY EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE ENTERED INTO

Kindly note that should the University not be satisfied with any of the tenders submitted, it will not be obliged to make a tender award.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS DIVISION INVITATION TO TENDER

Rhodes University, Infrastructure and Operations Division invites all suitably qualified service providers to respond to the invitation for the tender below:

MV NETWORK UPGRADE PHASE 3 The scope of work for the project involves the

decommissioning, disconnection and removal of existing substation equipment for the existing Rhodes University Medium Voltage network. The successful contractor will supply and install new dry-type transformers, MV switchgear and MV cables as part of the Phase 3 of the MV network upgrade. The phase 3 will also involve multiple switching on the existing system, testing and commissioning.

Tender documentation will be available on the Rhodes University eProcurement website on payment of a R500 non-refundable deposit. Tender documents will only be released after proof of payment has been received. Proof of payment must be emailed to [email protected].

Payment must be made to the following bank account:

o Account name: Rhodes University o Bank: First National Bank o Branch: 210717 o Account number: 621 4550 3076 o Reference: 12500 798 183

Information about registering on the website as a Bidder can be obtained from the Procurement Department as per the details below:

• Contact person: Mrs W Lombard;

Email: [email protected]

A compulsory tender’s site inspection will be held at 11h00 on Thursday, 28 February 2019 at the 35 South Street, Rhodes University, Somerset Street, Grahamstown.

Tender submission: Tenders must be submitted online through the eProcurement portal. Responses must adhere to the required format, to enable Rhodes University to adjudicate all bids effectively and fairly. Late submission, manual, email, fax and telephonic submission will not be considered.

Close of Tenders: Monday, 11 March 2019 at 13h00.

ONLY EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE ENTERED INTO

Kindly note that should the University not be satisfied with any of the tenders submitted, it will not be obliged to make a tender award.

Learners win big with RUME

STAFF REPORTER

T

his year the Rhodes Uni- versity Maths Experi- ence (RUME) welcomed 22 schools and a total of 360 learners from in and around Makhanda (Grahamstown), with schools from Port Alfred and Port Elizabeth joining as well. RUME is an annual event that hosts learners from grade 7-12, both public and private schools.

“Generally learners have a perception that Maths is difficult. This perception comes from elders and teachers who advise them against it. So, over the years, we are teach- ing the learners with new strategies to show them that it’s not really that difficult,”

said Mandlakayise Sineka, Samuel Ntsiko Primary School, grade 7 teacher.

By design, the Maths Expe- rience is meant to stimulate an interest in mathematics for learners, with an afternoon filled with maths-orientated activities.

The first being an hour long mini-Olympiad set by the Co- ordinator Andrew Stevens, Lecturer at the Rhodes Uni- versity Education Department and Chair of the organising committee.

In preparation for this event, “the learners went to the Rhodes training sessions and we had extra Maths class- es in the afternoons. This is a wonderful opportunity, the learners gain so much from it even if they don’t achieve at a grade 7 level, it really puts them in a good position to achieve at the highest levels

because they know what is expected,” said Anita Sonne, Victoria Primary School, grade 7 teacher.

Once the students had concluded writing, they gath- ered in groups discussing the answers to the questions over refreshments. The nerv- ous energy that filled Barratt beforehand had dissipated, leaving an energy of excite- ment for the rest of the afternoons activities.

“It was difficult, but man- ageable and we would defi- nitely do it again,” said a group of students from Nombulelo High School in Makhanda.

While the teachers were hard at work marking, Ste- vens took to the front of the Barratt 1 lecture theatre and kept a room full learners rapt with maths questions and tips on problem-solving. With every maths problem-solving question he posed, the learn- er who gave the right answer would win a brand new cal- culator.

The learners thoroughly enjoyed this, with a number of hands shooting up with ex- citement; eager to give their answers and argue their case if it was found to be wrong.

“A lot of learners here today, are already entered into the South African Maths Olym- piad. When tackling problem- solving questions you need to READ and understand the problems; make a connection between the UNKNOWN and the given data; carry out your PLAN; and lastly, look back,”

said Stevens.

In the question paper Ste- vens had set for the afternoon, five questions were common to all the papers. This was done in the previous year (2018) as well and resulted in a small difference between grade per- formance; with grades 9-10 doing better than 11-12 in some of them. The results em- phasise that knowing the facts is not always what is needed in problem-solving; however, understanding basic concepts is a better strategy.

The prize winners received cash prizes, with the top 3 achieving learners in grade 11-12 being awarded with scholarships to Rhodes Uni- versity. The scholarship prizes were organised by the Deputy Dean of the Science Faculty, Joyce Sewry.

The prize giving began with prizes being awarded to the top learners from each school,

followed by winners in each grade division.

The RUME Bursary winners for 2019 were Brody Hena- ghan from St Andrews College in 1st place; Chase de Doncher and Keanan Johns from Alex- ander Road in Port Elizabeth placing 2nd and 3rd, respec- tively.

Stevens gave thanks to all the sponsors who assisted in making the afternoon a suc- cess for the learners.

“There are not many events in the Makhanda region, where so many schools come together at one time, in one place to do something aca- demic. It’s a team effort, where teachers, learners and Rhodes staff all participate. However, it would not happen if it were not for Andrew Stevens. A big thank you to him. Mkahanda Maths is all the better for his efforts,” Sewry concluded.

Brody Henaghan from St Andrew’s College was the overall winner. Photo: Supplied

From Page 3

contacted President Cyril Ramaphosa for emergency funding to help provide the support that is much needed around the province.

“I don’t think that advisers have briefed the president enough as to to what is actually going on,” said Sooliman.

The exploration of boreholes has continued throughout the week; with Groenewald breaking ground on two sites on municipal-owned land.

Crisis amid charity In a statement on Thursday 21 February, Makana Mu- nicipality warned that James Kleynhans is producing water at half its capacity. The facility normally produces 10 megalitres a day. This was because two of the plant’s four filters needed to be replaced at a cost of R1 million.

The Municipal Infrastruc- ture Support Agency had provided this funding but it would take two more weeks before the plant returns to full capacity. Meanwhile, Gift of the Givers would intensify water deliveries in Makhanda East.

“The delivery points will be communicated every day,”

Makana said.

The pumping of water to the Waainek plant stopped after a broken pump leaked water into the Howieson’s Poort pump station and flooded the facility.

“The equipment at the pump station needs time to dry. The electricians are busy draining the water from the electric equipment. This might take two to three days,”

the statement said. The equipment and the pumps would then have to be thoroughly dried before being recommis- sioned.

Residual water in the lay dams at the Waainek Water Treatment Works is being used to supply water to the western side for the two days it’s expected to take to restore the supply; however, at full use these would quickly be- come depleted and residents have been urged to use water sparingly: 25 litres a day per person (or 100 litres a day for a four-person household).

Grey water should be used for flushing toilets.

– Kathryn Cleary, Sue Maclennan and Stephen Kisbey-Green contributed to this article

Call for national aid

to Eastern Cape

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From Page 5

Residents were once again calling for improved sanitation, access to water from communal taps and working street lights. These complaints are nothing new for this community, but recent data released by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) raises more serious concerns Water safety concerns Water testing results from November and December of 2018 returned positive for e.coli bacteria in Makana’s water supply. The laboratory results show levels of potentially disease-causing bacteria to be up to 20 times higher than the legislated standard.

As charity Gift of the Giv- ers handed out emergency supplies of bottled water to residents, schools and clinics on Wednesday 13 February, furious councillors were hearing in a committee meeting of the Community Safety and Social Service portfolio that in November 2018, the total coliform count of water sampled at the Environmental Health department was 201.

The standard considered safe for drinking is 0-9. In the same month, laboratory tests recorded a 2 cfu/100ml read- ing of e.coli in water sampled at the Extension 7 clinic. No amount of e.coli in drinking water is safe, according to the national standard.

However, water testing results from January and Feb- ruary released 18 February show markable improvements in the municipal water supply. Makgoka shared the latest test results with Grocott’s Mail 19 February, confirming that all sites except Riebeeck East had reached acceptable levels of bacteria. Makana issued a statement advising Riebeeck East residents to boil the water before consumption.

Adding to this, in a presen- tation at the end of last year, DWS Water Quality Manager Mzukisi Maneli highlighted some of Makhanda’s worst ongoing sewage spillages. Pho- tographs showed raw sewage pouring into the Bloukrans and Botha’s Rivers from broken sewerage pipes and junc- tions across the city, as well as infrastructure at the Belmont

and Mayfield waste water treatment works.

At the meeting of the Maka- na Water Forum in Noluthan- do Hall, intended among other things to set in place a water management plan for the municipality’s December shutdown period, Maneli said,

“Here in Makana, there is an outbreak of waterborne disease waiting to happen. It’s only a matter of time.”

Last week, DWS stated in a press release that Makana could be taken to court as a result of raw sewage spills into surrounding rivers.

Sun City is but one example of many local communities on the frontlines of Makana’s sanitation and water war.

With one working tap pro- viding municipal water, and overflowing waste buckets, residents wait in fear for the worst.

Makgoka expressed that long-term plans for Sun City include relocating residents to a better environment; however residents say there is no other place for them.

Sitting on a health time- bomb but nowhere to go

In council last November, Mayor Nomhle Gaga claimed that Sun City residents were

“double-dipping”; meaning that they had been allocated housing in suitable areas but had chosen to stay in Sun City.

Makgoka in September said, “The area was closed, people were removed to areas of Mayfield and Hooggenoeg.

But some people moved back, sold their houses and started Sun City informal settlement,”

he said.

Our reporter returned to the community to further investigate these claims.

Former ward councillor Marcelle Booysen claims that very few Sun City residents were in fact allocated to RDP housing, and of the few, only a handful were renting them out. Booysen served as a councillor from 2012 through 2016.

“Yes some people got their houses and they sold it, some are renting it,” she said. How- ever, there were also people allocated houses who never got them.

“There were people who

got houses. They had a letter to say, ‘this is your house, you should go get the key’. When they went to the housing department to go and get the key, the house [had been] given to somebody else. So now they’re sitting with a letter, and they’ve been registered as a house-owner, it would ap- pear on the [housing register]

but they haven’t actually got the house.”

Booysen stated this was between 2003 and 2007.

Our reporter spoke to one Sun City resident who had been waiting for a house since 1992. Tina Alkaster is 86 years old, and lives in a small metal shack with her daughter, Tina Seeletsa.

Alkaster stated that she had a letter approving her for a home, but when she went to claim the house there were already people living there.

“The government didn’t assist,” she emphasised. “It’s no use fighting,” said her daughter.At the time of the visit, the family did not have the original letter with them.

Another family told a similar story.

Lorraine Nel was pregnant with her son Samuel, when she was told she could move into a house in Extension 10.

“I could have moved but I had no help and no money,” she said. “The clinic said I must put my feet up.”

Samuel is four years old, and has grown up in Sun City.

Nel’s partner, Freddie Smith, has the original letter approving their family for a home in Extension 10.

In September, Grocott’s Mail spoke to Smith, who had taken to fixing the broken tap in the community.

Nel added that their buckets had been collected the previous week, but that they were told it would be another month before the next collection.

The day of the visit, Ma- kana was repairing a vandalised mainline in Mayfield. As result, Sun City did not have water.

Makana has been ap- proached numerous times for comment on the housing matter and did not provide a response.

8 NEWS NEWS 9 Grocott’s Mail

22 FEBRUARY 2019

Water, health concerns grow

(Left) Tina Seeletsa and her mother Tina Alkaster, live in a metal shack in Sun City. Alkaster has been waiting for an RDP house since 1992. Photos: Kathryn Cleary

(Left)Samuel and his mother Lorraine Nel reside in Sun City.

Nel was allocated a house in Extension 10 but without assistance could not claim the property.

Grocott’s will continue to report.

Grocott’s Mail will continue to investigate the housing and sanitation crisis in Sun City. Any residents who may have information to assist our reporters, please email [email protected].

Our team would like to in- form our readers that the information in this article dat- ing back to November 2018 was written as a story to be published with urgency and immediacy for our readers.

However, given the severity of the issues in the article we made the editorial decision to wait until we had more information from Makana. We now feel that given the time of crisis it is our responsibil- ity to fully publish this information for the health and well-being of our readers.

Our team is also seeking resources to investigate potential waterborne disease and allegations of corrup-

tion within Makana. The investigation into potential waterborne illness is not about the municipal water supplied through communal and private taps; but the standing water and sewage that accumulates in public areas as a result of leaks or spills. This issue is of particu- lar concern for Sun City due to the poor sanitation conditions and lack of water infrastructure.

“Here in Makana, there is an outbreak of waterborne disease waiting to happen. It’s

only a matter of time.”

A dog sleeps on a heap of dirty laundry in Sun City.

Councillors red-flag Makana’s water

GROCOTT’S MAIL REPORTERS

B

acterial counts in the tap water from testing sites in Makhanda (Graham- stown) have returned to safe levels; however, in Riebeeck East, the water remains unsafe to drink, according to laboratory results. An urgent notice for Riebeeck East residents to boil water for at least three minutes before drinking it was issued by Makana Municipality this week.

Testing on drinking water sampled from nine sites across Makana Municipality on 6 February show

that bacteria in the tap water at all sites except Riebeeck East had returned to acceptable levels, according to Director of Community Safety and So- cial Services Kelello Makgo-

ka. The Director on 19 Febru- ary telephonically shared with Grocott’s Mail some of the latest test results, printed at the National Health Laboratory Service’s Port Elizabeth laboratory on 11 February 2019, as well as information about tests on samples taken in January.

Public service watchdog PSAM this week slammed Co- operative Governance MEC Fikile Xasa for failing to intervene in Makana Municipality, after it emerged that during the last two months of 2018, some residents were receiving unsafe water in their taps.

The Public Service Account- ability Monitor called for serious action to address human rights violations, and councillors have demanded disciplinary action, as test results on Makana water in November and December report levels of potentially disease-causing bacteria up to 20 times higher than the legislated standard.

The alarming repeat of Ma- kana’s May 2018 dirty water debacle came as Makhanda (Grahamstown) faces an un- precedented water supply crisis.Large areas of the city had dry taps for a week or longer because of operational failures at the water treatment works.

And the city’s water could halve as soon as next week, as drought shrinks the supply to the west, Settlers Dam, to a level where it can no longer be pumped.

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers handed out emergency supplies of bottled water to residents, schools and clinics last Wednesday from six massive trucks that had travelled from every corner of South Africa.

This week, Gift of the Givers has brought a giant rig to town and together with Makana Municipality is deciding where to drill boreholes.

The water quality shock that confronted councillors and officials in the Council Chamber on Wednesday 13 February, was due to insufficient capacity to manage Makana’s water infrastructure, ineffective supply chain management processes and a lack of skilled operation and maintenance, Director of Community Ser-

vices and Public Safety Kelello Makgoka said.

On Tuesday, Makgoka said laboratory results for February confirmed that water at all the testing sites except Riebeeck East had returned to safe levels.Makgoka’s directorate supplies water safety information to managers of the municipality’s water treatment works, which they must act on. He said he would be corroborat- ing data from Makana’s clinics to see if there had been a rise in diarrhoea or other water-

borne diseases among the community during November and December last year.

Furious councillors in a committee meeting of Makana Mu- nicipality’s Com- munity Safety and Social Services portfolio heard that in November 2018, among other shocking results, the total coliform count of water sampled at the Environ- mental Health department was 201. The total coliform standard considered acceptable for drinking is 0-9. In the same month, laboratory tests recorded e.coli in water sampled at the Extension 7 clinic. The national standard for drinking water says no amount of e.coli in drinking water is safe.

SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER SAFETY STANDARD

SANS 241: 2015 is the South Afri- can National Standard for drinking water. It includes microbio- logical, physical, aesthetic and chemical factors derived from the World Health Organization Guidelines for drinking-water quality.

The unit to estimate the number of bacteria that could di- vide and multiply in a sample is colony forming units per 100ml (cfu/100ml). The e.coli bacterium is found in the faeces of animals and humans. The SANS standard for e.coli is zero.

The total coliform count includes bacteria found in the soil, in dams and other surface water, as well as in human and animal waste. It’s an indication of contamination that has the potential to cause disease. The permissible total coliform range for drinking water, according to SANS 241: 2015 is 0-9 cfu/100ml.

National spotlight

In May 2018, angry residents put the national spotlight on Makana’s water and sanitation crisis, marching to the city hall with bottles of dirty water and at least one bucket of raw sewage.As he was then, Health and Cleansing Manager Johann Es- terhuizen was last week called on to explain the test results.

His department, which falls under the Community Services and Public Safety directorate, carries out regular internal water quality testing. Samples are also sent to an accredited laboratory once a month for certified testing.

WHAT WE HAD IN OUR WATER

According to a report in the Social Development Portfolio

Committee agenda for 13 Febru- ary 2019, water sampled at one place in November 2018 had e.coli:

• Extension 7 clinic: 2 cfu/100ml

In November 2018, the following total coliform counts were measured in water samples in Makana:

• Extension 7 Clinic: 8

• Environmental Health Of- fice: 201

• Community tap in J Street:

29• Indoor Sports Centre: 10

• Alicedale Municipal Office: 41

• Riebeeck East Municipal Office: 50 In December 2018, e.coli was measured in samples from:

Extension 7 Clinic: 4 J Street community tap: 1 Indoor Sports Centre: 1 In December 2018 a total coliform count of 95 was measured at the water purification works itself. The Extension 7 clinic, J Street tap and Indoor Sports Centre had total coliform counts greater than 201, with the Envi- ronmental Health Office at 130, Alicedale Municipal Office at 109 and Riebeeck East Municipal Of- fice at 89.

IMPROVED RESULTS IN FEBRUARY

Director Makgoka verbally shared test results from February 2019 with Grocott’s Mail. These verbally shared figures suggested that water from all sampling points except Riebeeck East had by February returned to safe levels. Some of the results, as shared telephonically on Tues- day 19 February were:

• J Street – e.coli corrected to zero (after a January count of 1 cfu/100ml).

• Makana CBD offices – e.coli 0 and total coliform 10

• Extension 7 Clinic – e.coli 0 and total coliform 8

• James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works – e.coli 0 and total coliform 8

• Alicedale – e.coli 0 and total coliform 5

“If results do not comply to SANS, resampling must be done and the results must be corroborated with clinical data from the community in that area,” Makgoka emphasised to Grocott’s Mail on Tuesday 19 February.

Asked to explain the No- vember and December 2018 data during last week’s meeting, Esterhuizen said staff at Riebeeck East and Alicedale water treatment works had told him that for three weeks they hadn’t had enough sodium hypochlorite to treat the water and had been instruct-

ed to use less to make it last longer. They had also run out of chlorine gas.

“You need to purify the water properly with right amount of chemicals,” Esterhuizen emphasised to the councillors on Wednesday. “The people who are supposed to do the job are doing it – but they can’t do it properly if they don’t have chlorine gas, or sodium hypochlorite. I don’t understand why they run out of the chemicals.”

Doseage

Councillors were unanimous in their outrage.

“Who issued the instruction to reduce the doseage?” Ward 4 councillor Brian Fargher asked. “Who issued an instruction to break the law?”

PR councillor Carey Clark called for consequence management. “If people don’t do their jobs and that puts thousands of lives at risk, they need to be fired,” she said.

Supply chain management was under fire for an almost identical situation in early 2018, when the Waainek treatment facility ran out of chlorine and the chlorination process at James Kleynhans was faulty.

Excessive sludge in the set- tling tanks at the water treatment works for east Makhanda (Grahamstown) made the water muddy in appearance.

The turbulence along with the large quantities of floccu- lent added to settle the sedi- ment made chlorination ineffective, Department of Water and Sanitation officials explained at the time.

Of the November and De- cember 2018 test results, Mak- goka confirmed to councillors this was one area that could not be compromised.

With a senior technician acting as a water manager, capacity was a serious problem, he said. One of the consequences of this was that the plants are not maintained on a regular basis.

In addition, supply chain management needed improve- ment so enough chemicals are bought in time, Makgoka said.

Portfolio chair Phumla Maty- umza said the institution’s supply chain management should be called to account.

Dysfunctional

Public Service Accountability Monitor Jay Kruuse this week said the latest water quality results confirmed a recurrent trend of mismanagement that implicates various officials within Makana Local Munici- pality.

“This is not the first time that residents of Makhanda, Alicedale and Riebeeck East have had their human rights violated by mismanagement of a critical function – the delivery of unpolluted clean and safe drinking water,” Kruuse said.

“It is high time that those implicated face disciplinary action for recurrent acts that result in widespread endanger- ing of residents health.”

Kruuse said the latest results and explanations provided by the Municipality revealed yet again that decision-making and management had failed at water treatment facilities, within offices responsible for maintaining essential supplies and at middle to senior management levels.

“We call upon the Munici- pal Manager and Council to take serious action to address these human rights violations.

A municipality that distributes polluted water to residents places preventable strain upon the health service and poses serious health threats to especially young undernourished children, the elderly and those who don’t have easy access to medical treatment.

“This state of affairs also implicates Fikile Xasa, the MEC for Cooperative Governance, who has failed to respond ad- equately or at all when called upon to intervene and improve such basic services that clearly evidence dysfunction and neg- ligence,” Kruuse said.

Promise of support In May 2018, during a summit with local stakeholders including business, schools and the University, Minister of Co- operative Governance Zweli Mkhize promised that Makana would receive various kinds of support from the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), including water engi- neers. Makana’s Infrastructure Director Dali Mlenzana was in September 2018 put on pre- cautionary suspension pend- ing investigations into alleged financial misconduct during periods when he was acting municipal manager.

Makgoka, who was ap- pointed Director of Commu- nity Safety and Social Services midway through 2018, was almost immediately additionally tasked with carrying the deeply fractured and dysfunctional infrastructure and technical services directorate.

He was recused from this role at a full Council meeting on 30 January, with the acting directorship defaulting to Mu- nicipal Manager Moppo Mene.

If people don’t do their jobs and that puts thousands of lives at risk, they need to be fired.

Upgrades are under way at James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works that are set to double its capacity to 20 megalitres a day by 2021. Meanwhile, poor maintenance, lack of capacity at the treatment works and ineffective supply chain management have led to water quality problems.

Photo: Sue Maclennan (11 February 2019)

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AMAZWI PUKU STORY

FESTIVAL PROGRAMME 2019

FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2019

TIME ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION VENUE AUDIENCE CAPACITY

9am to 4pm EXHIBITION Tour of permanent and temporary exhibition spaces featuring the first Puku Festival exhibition and the 6th Puku Story Festival exhibition dedicated to Gcina Mhlophe. Exhibitors include authors, publishers, NGOs and environmental organisations.

Nelm Ground Floor All

9.30am to

11.30am CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME Storytelling and games facilitated by various storytellers. Children’s storytelling area Gr 5-7 100+

9.30am to

10.30am Active Learning Workshop Foundation Phase Teachers utilising mu