The Water and Sanitation and Human Settlement Portfolio Committees have observed the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) progress in addressing the issues of the Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee in Vhembe District, Limpopo.
The Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee (NCRC) is comprised of villagers under the Mulenzhe, Mphaphuli, and Tshivase traditional councils who were affected by the 1998 construction of Nandoni Dam.
In April of this year, the NCRC submitted a petition to the Speaker of the National Assembly outlining a number of issues, including compensation, shoddy construction of government-provided housing, and shortage of water.
In response to the Speaker’s request, the portfolio committees conducted a two-day oversight visit in the Vhembe and Giyani districts over the weekend to engage the relevant municipalities and other role-players on the petition’s concerns and facilitate further engagements to find solutions to all of the petition’s concerns.
Over 1,200 victims were compensated.
Robert Mashego, the chairman of the Water and Sanitation Committee, stated that during the visit, the committees heard that initially there were 1,362 impacted parties, but 22 were removed off the list after thorough verification.
“The committees also discovered that 91 of the impacted parties were reimbursed between 2001 and 2005, and another 1,160 would be compensated between 2019 and 2022.
“The remainder could not be compensated due to a number of obstacles, including erroneous banking information, repeated names, untraceable parties, and a lack of proof of ownership of the affected plots,” Mashego explained.
The committees, according to Mashego, observed that the subject of who should be reimbursed was of less concern than the sums of compensation.
All house renovations will be completed in December.
The committees were informed that 147 out of 387 houses in Manini, Thilongoma, Dididi, Mulenzhe, and Budeli Villages were renovated in June and July 2022 in response to the issue of substandard craftsmanship in the houses given to the affected parties.
“The remaining houses are undergoing renovations and will be finished in November and December of this year,” Mashego stated.
The committees were also informed that the bulk infrastructure for water reticulation to the villages of Tshitomboni, Tambaulate, Dididi, Mulenzhe, and Jimmy Jones is being built by the Vhembe District Municipality, which will be responsible for 85% of the project, while the Department of Water and Sanitation will be responsible for 15%.
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Inadequate roads and bridges were also cited as problems with service delivery in the petition. The DWS committed to completing the construction of roads and bridges in February and April 2023, respectively.
“Another topic of concern was the relocation of graves, and the department estimated that the project would be completed within three months once the project steering committee confirmed the new location. “According to the department, all affected parties were consulted and their approval was obtained,” Mashego added.
He stated that the committees will discuss their views and create a joint oversight report, which will be delivered to the Speaker.