The Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi, officially opened a new water project at Matsila last Thursday.
The event was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Cooperative and Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Andries Nel, Thovhele Vho-Nthumeni Masia and many chiefs. The R3,5 million project created 60 jobs for local people. Mabudafhasi said the project was her department's intervention to provide water to communities that did not have access to water.
She mentioned that one of the greatest challenges for the government was to provide basic services and infrastructure to all South Africans. "Besides the obvious benefits of receiving clean, safe water and sanitation, the project also aims to improve the quality of life," she said.
Chief Livhuwani Matsila said his people received their human rights. "When I pleaded with the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs to help my people, the situation was so bad that we sometimes had no access to water."
He added that the community used to collect water from the rivers as there is no water in the area. "The time of community members travelling long distances to rivers to collect water is now a thing of the past," he said.