Dear Editor
Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Project, which commenced in 2008, is a critical project to plug water supply shortages in Gauteng and surrounding areas.
The Project was meant to be delivering water to residents six years ago, in 2019, at a total cost of R8bn. It is now delayed by a decade and will cost taxpayers R53bn (more than 6 times the original cost).
The DA has been probing this massive cost overrun, and we have uncovered that the Department commenced with the project without a feasibility study. A letter from the Department shows “preliminary estimates without critical details” were used (or essentially a thumb suck) before building began. Taxpayers are now footing the bill for this.
Also deeply concerningly, the Department has declined to launch an independent probe to avoid further ballooning costs, which the DA requested.
The DA will now:
- Request the Department’s appearance before Committee on why a feasibility study was not conducted, and why the project should not be independently probed, despite ballooning 6 fold already,
- Request that the Department urgently publicise its turnaround plan to ensure that the Project is not delayed further and provide regular updates.
The DA also calls on Minster Majodina to bring the public into confidence that the Project will not bleed taxpayers more that it has already.
The DA will not tolerate flagrant waste of taxpayer funds, especially as taps sit dry in Gauteng. Taxpayers must be respected, and the DA will ensure that funds are spent on infrastructure-led growth, as South Africans deserve better.
Regards
Stephen Moore MP
DA Spokesperson on Water & Sanitation