GOOD organiser Shaun August and GOOD Northern Cape member Leonard McKay overlooking the Akkerendman Nature reserve in Hantam
GOOD MP Shaun August has written to Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu to thank her, on behalf of the people of Calvinia, for the steps her department has taken to secure the Northern Cape town's water supply.
August first wrote to Sisulu in January 2020, in his capacity as a member of parliament's Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, following an oversight trip to the Northern Cape.
Among the places he visited was Akkerendam Nature Reserve, the critical water catchment area for Calvinia. It was the same month that the province was declared a disaster area due to a long-term drought.
What August found, and reported to Sisulu, was that the dam was serving the town was at such a low level that people were having to rely on boreholes or water bought in town. The quality of the borehole water was affecting people's health.
He asked Sisulu when her department would table a plan in response to the drought, whether planned interventions would include removing thirsty trees from the dam, and if there were plans to raise the level of the dam wall to capture extra water when the rains come.
Sisulu's response was not terribly warm. She referred him to a speech by the President at and ANC rally a few weeks earlier, where it was announced that the province would be getting an extra R300m after being declared a disaster area.
But August persisted. He wrote back to Sisulu to say that her response, "unpleasingly referred me to watch an ANC party rally as opposed to sharing insights and offering solutions".
Fourteen months passed before August wrote a third letter to Sisulu. This time he reported that he had been back to the Hantam and noticed many improvements.
More boreholes had been installed, a new reservoir constructed, and thirsty trees in the dam removed.
August expressed his own gratitude, and that of the Calvinia community.
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