Hon Minister, uMkhanyakude has a water supply problem, but there is a dam nearby. Firstly, I would like to know whether the hon will be able to assist with the R20 million which is available. Secondly, there are places here... Can the hon Minister hear me? The water supply system is worn out underground and needs to be properly fixed. Will the additional money help the hon Minister to fix that particular area?]
TONA YA MERERO YA METSI LE TIKOLOGO: Mmusakgotla, ke ne ke re ke arabe rre ka gore re utlwile gore o bua ka lefelo le le bidiwang uMkhanyakude. Ke solofela gore rre, o tla kgona go re isa teng ka gore ke kwa gae, ke etele le ena ke tle ke ye go bona. Re a itse gore go na le bothata jwa metsi teng kwa uMkhanyakude, metsi re a itse gore ga a tswe, go bothata jo botona kwa teng mme re samagane le bona gore re tle re dire gore batho ba rona ba nne le metsi ka gore a tlhokega tota.
Re utlwile e bile re a itse gore dipeipi tsa rona tsa kwa teng, ga di a nna sentle, di setse di senyegile di na le dirusu, di tsamaisa metsi totatota ka tsela e e sa tshwanelang, mme go mo maikemisetsong le mo maemong a lefapha leno gore mo porogarameng ya rona e e bidiwang Dikakego tsa Bontsi tsa Sedika le e e bidiwang Asek, re thusana le bagaetsho ba kwa uMkhanyakude gore re tsenye dipeipi tseno re di siamise. Ga go a siama, re tsweletse pele ka lenaneo leo e bile re lwa bosigo le motshegare go dira gore batho ba rona ba nne le metsi. Ke a leboga. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[The MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: Speaker, I would like to respond to the question by the hon member as we heard him talk about a place called uMkhanyakude. I hope that the hon member will be able to take us there since it is his home town. I will accompany him in order to see that place. We all know that there are water-related problems in the uMkhanyakude area, and we are in the process of ensuring that our people have access to water, because it is a necessity.
We are aware that our water pipes are not in a good condition, they are rust and broken, and the water pipe system used to supply water is also poor. It is the department's mandate and responsibility through our Regional Bulk Infrastructure Programme to assist the people of uMkhanyakude with repairing these water pipes. We have not addressed the problem yet, but we are going ahead with the programme working day and night to ensure that our people have water. Thank you.]