The provision of services such as water and electricity in the rural municipality of Msinga received a major boost this morning when the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka officially handed over the eMzweni Electrification project in Ward 2 and the eMakhamo borehole project in Ward 3.
A resident of the area Zanele Sangweni, could not contain her joy when MEC Hlomuka officially handed over the borehole to her community, who previously had to walk long distances to access water. “We are thrilled to now have access to drinking water within the reach of our homes. We used to make long arduous trips to get water, we are happy now that water is closer to us” said Sangweni.
The launch of the borehole is a culmination of efforts made by the department of Cogta, which saw it invest millions of rands into borehole projects within the uMzinyathi District, to bring water to close to the communities of uMsinga.
“The area of Msinga has a dire shortage of water and our visit today, to hand over this borehole to the community is an important milestone in our efforts. While boreholes are not a long term solution, they are better than water tankering and will give the District room to bring other water schemes on board to alleviate the water shortages within the community of Msinga” said Hlomuka.
Through the investment made by the department, 20 solar-powered production boreholes have been drilled in the District. Out of this number six boreholes have been done in Msinga, in the areas of Bahulazi Village(ward 16), eMakhamo ward 3, Mbabane ward 5, Rockerdrift ward 12, Ndaya ward 13, Mngeni and Ngubukazi in Ward 16.
“As the provincial government, we are continuing to work with the Mzinyathi District to ensure that all the grants they receive for water projects are utilised” adds Hlomuka.
As part of this visit, MEC Hlomuka also visited the community of eMzweni where he officially conducted a switch-on of the electrification project which will benefit close to 100 households. The community of eMzweni did not have electricity before and the R1.5 million project brings the modern-day conveniences of electricity to the rural households of the area.
One of the beneficiaries of the project, Mamayi Buthelezi (57) says that the electrification project has brought much hope to them. “We felt abandoned in all this time when we did not have electricity, the intervention by the MEC Hlomuka has transformed our lives as we now have access to electricity as a result of the department’s intervention. We are grateful for this” said a happy Buthelezi.
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