In July 2022, Brandfort resident Douglas Kheswa told GroundUp that they only get piped water about one day a week. The Hawks are now exploring municipal tenders for the renovation of Brandfort’s water treatment plants and raw water pumping stations. Photos: Steve Kretzmann
The Hawks raided three offices of the Masilonyana Local Municipality in the Free State earlier this month to gather evidence of mismanagement related to tenders for the renovation of a water treatment plant and the modernization of a sports center.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said the raids were carried out on December 9 in conjunction with the Directorate for the Investigation of Priority Crimes (the Hawks) with a warrant issued by the Welcome Magistrates Court.
They gathered evidence “to determine whether municipal officials, service providers or other involved parties unduly favored themselves or others, leading to unauthorized, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure or financial losses to the municipality,” said SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
Since one presidential proclamation As the investigation was published on September 13, the SIU had asked the municipality to voluntarily provide the required documents, but this was ignored, Kganyago said.
During the search, the SIU collected documents and devices “essential for auditing and compliance of successful tenders” awarded since January 1, 2013. This included company registration documents, payment details, electronic devices and electronic data such as emails and “cloud storage information linked to specific personnel”.
The Brandfort water treatment plant purifies the water from the Erfenis dam, which also supplies water to the city of Theunissen, the seat of the municipality of Masilonyana.
The drinking water in the Brandfort and Theunissen system does not meet the minimum drinking water quality standards. That is currently the case a compliance of 0% for all six quality indicators, indicating that the municipality does not even carry out mandatory water quality tests.
The Blue Drop Report 2023, which presents an audit of South Africa’s drinking water supply systems, noted that water infrastructure in the towns of Brandfort, Theunissen, Winburg and Verkeerdevlei of the Masilonyana Local Municipality were in a critical condition.
GroundUp in 2022 spoke to residents in Brandfort who said that water only flowed through the taps one day a week.
According to the National Treasury Municipal Money SiteMasilonyana Local Municipality has not submitted financial statements to the Auditor General since at least the 2018/2019 financial year.
News radio station OFM in September reported that municipal workers had demanded the removal of Mayor Dimakatso Modise.
We did not receive a response to a request for comment from the municipality.
Drinking water is leaking from a water reservoir outside Theunissen in the local municipality of Masilonyana. The Hawks are investigating tenders for the renovation of a water treatment plant and pumping stations in the municipality.
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By Steve Kretzmann
groundup.org.za
