DA caucus leader in Capricorn municipality, Bianca Mocke, has called for an investigation into the defunct R11-million water purification plant at Letswatla village, saying the plant has never operated since its construction more than a decade ago.
“This investigation must include the immediate disclosure of all consultants, engineers, and contractors involved. A detailed explanation for the project’s failure, and clear identification of those who must be held accountable,” said Mocke.
Fundamentally flawed design
She added that the plant remains a “wasted, non-functional asset” due to a fundamentally flawed design, lack of electrification, and a total failure of municipal oversight.
According to Mocke, the purification system cannot produce potable water. And this is because it is incompatible with the steel reservoir. The reservoir itself leaks heavily, indicating that neither the design nor the workmanship met minimum engineering standards.
Despite the site being declared complete, Eskom never electrified the plant. As a result, it has never been switched on, tested, or commissioned. To compensate for the defective design, four Jojo tanks were later installed. This is raising further questions about how engineers and the municipality approved a system that was never capable of functioning.
Although all components of the system are reportedly on-site, the transformer remains uninstalled. The plant is unelectrified, and there is no evidence that the system can operate.
Poor management, quality assurance
Mocke noted that the original contractor was later blocklisted. This deepened concerns about the municipality’s procurement integrity, contract management, and quality assurance.
“The community has received no benefit whatsoever from a project funded with public money,” she said.
Residents of Letswatla continue to suffer severe consequences. The community relies on a borehole in a neighbouring village. There, water pressure is so weak that only one street receives water at a time. Households often receive water only once a week. And valves frequently block — including those supplying the local clinic, compromising essential health services.
A second borehole has been requested for years. But the municipality has allegedly ignored repeated community pleas.
Series of violations
Mocke said the failed project constitutes clear violations of multiple laws and regulations, including:
- Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). Fruitless and wasteful expenditure; failure to ensure value for money;
- Municipal Systems Act – failure to provide basic services;
- Supply Chain Management Regulations: Defective procurement processes and poor contract management; and
- Water Services Act — failure to provide clean and safe drinking water; and
- Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) standards: No competent engineer should have approved a fundamentally incompatible design.
“Where the DA governs, we insist on clean, transparent, and accountable governance. One that delivers real, measurable improvements to the lives of the communities we serve,” Mocke concluded.
