HOFMEYR NEWS - An invitation from the board of Hofmeyr Hugs of Hope and # Sebenza-Mhlali, a local development initiative, to the founder of Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, has borne fruit.
On Saturday 6 February, Sooliman and his team arrived in Aberdeen town, after Sebenza-Mhlali committee member Masixolo Sintu alerted Sooliman via e-mail of the water problems in Hofmeyr.
Sintu contacted Gift of the Givers in desperation, hoping they would bring change, following years of inaction from the municipality and other state organs. These problems were already on the agenda of a municipal meeting held in 2008, and plans to resolve the crisis were tabled in their budget for 2009. Eventually a water canal was built from the Brakriver, to bring water to a reservoir in town. A number of pumps are also in place to supply water, but to no avail.
At the end of 2019 an inspection by Hugs of Hope of all pumps revealed no problems, but it was mentioned that the telemetry system was not effectively managed, and that the management of the available water does not reach the areas where it is desperately needed. Hofmeyr Hugs of Hope proceeded to supply elderly households with Hippo Rollers during lockdown, to ease the burden of carrying water to their homes each day. At that stage 800 households were without water. Only 50 Hippo Rollers could be supplied.
During November 2020 a delegation was sent to the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, to visit Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. "She informed our delegation that R40-million was allocated to the now defunct Tsolwana Municipality during 2019, to deal with the water crisis in Hofmeyr. She promised that a delegation would be sent to investigate the issue, but to date no report is available," says Andile Krwetshe, chairman of #Sebenza-Mhlali.
After good rains in the surrounding catchment areas, there should be ample water for household use.
According to Putco Solani of #Sebenza-Mhlali, representatives of Gift of the Givers, municipal officials, as well as local business owners and Dumile Lawana, also of #Sebenza-Mhlali, visited the boreholes on Saturday. "Everything was checked and it was found that the pumps are not pumping optimally, and more boreholes are needed. Dr Sooliman assured us that he will request assistance from Gift of the Givers and they will advise us about the best options available. The entire community will be assisted, and all stakeholders should be involved to the benefit of Hofmeyr and the surrounding communities."
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