Bulwane’s visit stems from calls from a local farmer, 84-year-old Frieda Vorster, to help restore a wall which is situated in the Modder River in order to prevent it from collapsing. 

Many farmers in the area might experience a water shortage if this were to happen. 

Here is Bulwane….

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Bulwane noted that the system used to build the wall is dated and could therefore, with persistent heavy rainfall, collapse. He added that if this happens farmers who are dependent on this structure will no longer have water for their irrigation systems.

The MEC says he was there to observe the situation in order to determine what the Provincial Department of Agriculture and the Department of Water and Sanitation can do to preserve this vital wall.

“By the look of things, in the near future, if we can get [more] heavy rain, it’s going to fall apart and [all] the water will [be lost] and the people around here won’t have water. So, that is where the concern is,” he stated.

When asked what the plans of the department are in providing assistance, Bulwane explained that he will not be able to state what interventions the department might come up with at this point. This, as he first needs to consult with the provincial Head of the Water and Sanitation Department, Tseliso Ntili, to deploy his engineers to visit the wall to establish how the wall can be preserved.

He further added that the engineers will be able to give advice on whether the wall should be rebuilt or if it could be fixed without having to knock it down first.

OFM News recently reported that Vorster stated that years ago, when a damage assessment was conducted, the estimated costs to fix the dam was about R3.5 million.

OFM News