Issued by: Department of Water Affairs
LIVING MEMORIAL TO CHRIS HANI: OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE CHRIS HANI MEMORIAL WATER SUPPLY SCHEME: LOWER SABALELE BY PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA
Today the taps were turned on in Lower Sabalele, the late Chris Hani's home village, in the rural areas of the ex-Transkei, bringing potable water to over 17 000 people.
President Nelson Mandela, who commented at Chris Hani's funeral that this small village where Chris Hani had grown up had no access to clean water, officially opened the scheme. The project, part of a larger Cofimvaba Rural Water Supply Scheme funded by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, is the first project in the second wave of RDP water supply projects to be opened. Additional work in the adjoining villages of Upper Sabalele and Banzi, during the ramainder of 1996, will bring the number of villages supplied with treated water from the Tsojana Dam to 16. The network of pipelines will provide for approximately 25 lires of water per person per day.
This project follows on from a Presidential Lead Project which has already provided water to 56 villages in the former Transkei.
The Sabalele scheme, appropriately named in honour of the late Chris Hani, whose relatives still live in the area, will materially improve the quality of life of residents of the area, particularly women. For the first time, they will be able to turn a tap to get clean, potable water, rather than having to walk long distances, often in inclement weather, to fetch possibly unsafe water from the local river. The project will also provide employment opportunities to the community, and help them to develop skills and build capacity to maintain and operate the scheme.
In accordance with the principles of the RDP, a Project Steering Committee (PSC), comprising member of the two villages, ensures ongoing community participation in the scheme. Campbell de Korte and Thorburn Consulting Engineers acted as project managers, under the direction of the Department. The firm was tasked to manage the operational aspects of the scheme and to ensure that villagers receive various training courses in how to maintain the scheme.
The PSC selected and employed local people from each village to do the work needed in their areas, and labour-intensive methods were applied to create job opportunities.
3 APRIL 1996
Enquiries: Trevor Balzer Department of Water Affairs and Forestry King William's Town Tel. (0433) 21045
or
Themba Khurmalo Liaison Officer Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry Cape Town Tel. (021) 45-7246/083-378-1721