Almost three decades after being relocated to allow for the construction of the Nandoni Dam near Thohoyandou, some relocated residents claim they have not been compensated.
Solomon Baloyi of the Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee is demanding that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) release a full list of households that have been compensated and those still awaiting payment for losses suffered during the relocation and construction of the Nandoni Dam.
The dam, completed in 1998, displaced 405 households from Ha-Budeli, Ha-Mutoti, Mphego, Tshilungoma, Tshitomboni, Tshaulu, Dididi and Mulenzhe. Families lost land, fruit trees and other property.
At the end of last year, DWS spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said 1,356 people had been compensated, with 28 still awaiting payment. “Finalisation of the remaining individual compensation depends solely on the submission of outstanding information by the affected beneficiaries, which is required to align with the available records for processing payments,” said Mavasa. She added that the department was working with traditional authorities to locate outstanding beneficiaries.
But Baloyi insists that the DWS should produce the list of paid and unpaid individuals for the Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee. “According to records in one of the villages, more than 100 people have not yet been paid, so we demand DWS to produce the list. Do not try to hide [it] from our committee,” claimed Baloyi.
The DWS, however, said the Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee was discontinued following a Portfolio Committee oversight visit, which resolved that the Nandoni Task Team should instead consist of representatives from traditional councils, the Vhembe District Municipality, the DWS and two village chairpersons. The Portfolio Committee recommended that the restructured technical committee should include Baloyi.
The Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee, meanwhile, insists it is still a recognised committee working for displaced residents.
In 2020, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo told residents that compensation would be completed by December of that year. Some households were paid, but others were not. Baloyi escalated the matter to the Portfolio Committee in April 2022 after noting ongoing delays.
During an oversight visit in 2022, the Portfolio Committee addressed the issues raised in the petition submitted by the Nandoni Complaints Resolution Committee. The committee criticised the DWS for approaching individuals directly with compensation offers without consulting community leaders such as Baloyi. It said the practice was unacceptable and undermined proper consultation.
Baloyi also alleges that some compensation payments were deposited into the trust accounts of traditional authorities instead of going directly to households. The DWS rejects this, saying payments were made both to beneficiaries and, in some cases, to traditional authorities. “This claim is inaccurate, as payments were not made only to the Traditional Authority but also directly to the affected beneficiaries,” said the DWS.
The Portfolio Committee questioned the criteria used and said the matter required further investigation.