The drilling of three boreholes near Mowkop to augment the water supply to this main reservoir of Makhado (Louis Trichardt) should have started in 4 October last year and should have been completed by 30 April this year. It has not started yet.

The acting municipal manager of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), Mr Ratidzai Madimutsa, said that the delay was due to “various” obstacles. At first he referred to obstacles in general for the whole of the water supply action plan. “We had the rainy season in January and February this year, we had vandalism”. When asked about the three Mowkop boreholes in particular, he said that it took time to engage with the private landowner where the boreholes were to be drilled, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) had to be completed and the various requirements of the landowner had to be met. “We have overcome these obstacles and the contractor is standing ready to start drilling once the go-ahead has been given,” Madimutsa said.

The water supply action plan was drawn up in conjunction with civil rights organization AfriForum, who obtained a court order against VDM to enforce the water supply to Makhado (Louis Trichardt).  “The only real obstacle is incompetence,” AfriForum Louis Trichardt chairperson Mr Wally Schultz said in exasperation on Tuesday. “I am just beyond understanding the endless ‘serial incompetence’ that I uncover every single day in my dealings with Vhembe and their overpaid consultants. We stumbled across yet another blunder today, due to incompetence, that sets our reasonable goals back and prevents closure of our water supply action plan,” Schultz said. He added that he was on the phone every day for hours and at the respective sites as many times as possible. “I am doing their job for them,” Schultz said, referring to highly paid municipal officials and consultants. Schultz was the one to engage with the landowner where the three boreholes are to be drilled.  

“It was confirmed that all the documents requested by Komatiland [landowner] had been submitted. We are only waiting for them to give an approval to drill, which must be received before the end of July 2014,” read the minutes of a steering committee meeting of 8 July this year. It came to light on 2 September that there were still outstanding documents that the consultant had not provided. “Yet another example of incompetence holding up our action plan further. This is a point that will escape the man on the street who just wants water in his tap. This kind of ‘petty incompetence’ is not an isolated incident ... it is the rule and not the exception,” Schultz said and added that he still firmly believed in ‘constructive engagement’. “Constructive engagement, however, does not prohibit strong criticism where and when it is due and merited,” Schultz said.

Madimutsa said that he was not prepared to say that Vhembe and their consultants were taking too long to finalise the drilling of the last three boreholes. Concerning the 11 months since the project should have started, Madimutsa said, “It is not like nothing has been happening.”