Your columnist Peter Bruce has redefined the meaning of the notion of the freedom of the press by deliberately distorting the truth about the performance of government since the advent of democracy 22 years ago (THICK END OF THE WEDGE: Jacob Zuma’s last shot at redemption).
He mentioned the incident of a sluice manager at De Hoop Dam who was kidnapped and forced to open the sluice gates to allow water to flow downstream, but I don’t remember any infrastructure being damaged, and no one’s life was endangered as the Department of Water and Sanitation had long relocated the families who used to live within the parameters of the dam catchment.
I’m certainly not aware that the presence of the president at the official opening of the dam "cost the Economic Development Minister, Ebrahim Patel, much time and effort", as it was the Department of Water and Sanitation that was responsible for putting the event together.
The fact is, for the government to build a decent dam that will store and supply water sustainably, specific protocols that adhere to civil engineering, environmental and social issues must be followed to the letter. The process must be monitored and approved by the World Bank Commission. As well as relocating communities who live in the earmarked land, there are cultural and agricultural issues, such as the exhumation of graves and the allocation of suitable grazing land for livestock. All this implies compensation for the affected communities.
Once that has been done a labour desk is established to ensure the recruitment of the correct skills from the local communities. Then there is the issue of tenders, which must be treated with extreme care because the slightest hint at corruption may throw the whole process into disarray, thereby delaying the construction of the planned dam.
Put bluntly, the construction of a medium-sized dam that meets all the above requirements takes a period of up to 10 years. Given the labyrinth exercise to complete a dam, one can therefore imagine how many dams the government would be able to build in 22 years.
Themba Khumalo
Media liaison officer, Department of Water and Sanitation
Picture: KOPANO TLAPE, GCIS
Your columnist Peter Bruce has redefined the meaning of the notion of the freedom of the press by deliberately distorting the truth about the performance of government since the advent of democracy 22 years ago (THICK END OF THE WEDGE: Jacob Zuma’s last shot at redemption).
He mentioned the incident of a sluice manager at De Hoop Dam who was kidnapped and forced to open the sluice gates to allow water to flow downstream, but I don’t remember any infrastructure being damaged, and no one’s life was endangered as the Department of Water and Sanitation had long relocated the families who used to live within the parameters of the dam catchment.
I’m certainly not aware that the presence of the president at the official opening of the dam "cost the Economic Development Minister, Ebrahim Patel, much time and effort", as it was the Department of Water and Sanitation that was responsible for putting the event together.
The fact is, for the government to build a decent dam that will store and supply water sustainably, specific protocols that adhere to civil engineering, environmental and social issues must be followed to the letter. The process must be monitored and approved by the World Bank Commission. As well as relocating communities who live in the earmarked land, there are cultural and agricultural issues, such as the exhumation of graves and the allocation of suitable grazing land for livestock. All this implies compensation for the affected communities.
Once that has been done a labour desk is established to ensure the recruitment of the correct skills from the local communities. Then there is the issue of tenders, which must be treated with extreme care because the slightest hint at corruption may throw the whole process into disarray, thereby delaying the construction of the planned dam.
Put bluntly, the construction of a medium-sized dam that meets all the above requirements takes a period of up to 10 years. Given the labyrinth exercise to complete a dam, one can therefore imagine how many dams the government would be able to build in 22 years.
Themba Khumalo
Media liaison officer, Department of Water and Sanitation
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