ANTICIPATION filled the air over the town of Graaff-Reinet on Tuesday morning, as residents awaited the arrival of Gift of the Givers (GOTG).
The humanitarian organisation has been mandated by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, to be first responders in crisis situations, such as the one currently faced by the Jewel of the Karoo, which has been plagued by a water shortage since February.
Ali Sablay, project manager with GOTG, said they have been receiving pleas for help from Graaff-Reinet residents for quite some time, and they are glad to finally move in with the endorsement of the minister. Sablay has made it clear that GOTG is not in a position to fix the entire infrastructure.
“We are here to alleviate the immediate need for water, and hope to work with the existing leadership in town towards sustainable solutions.”
GOTG hydrologist, Dr Gideon Groenewald, has identified seven possible locations for new boreholes, and the GOTG drilling team wasted no time in starting drilling immediately.
“Our focus is to give the most vulnerable members of the community, children, the elderly, and residents in high lying areas, easy access to fresh drinking water.”
Groenewald is very humble about his uncanny ability to find the right spots to drill.
“Make no mistake; no man can see water under the ground. I don’t look for water, either. I look for the cracks, but God gives the water.”
He also said that playing the blame game would not serve any purpose.
“It is no man, no political party’s fault that the Nqweba dam is dry. We are in the grips of the worst drought South Africa has seen in 1 000 years. I am confident, that with the information I have gathered on Graaff-Reinet since 1999, that this town has got enough groundwater to see us through the drought.”
Despite receiving R30 million in drought relief funds earlier this year, the Beyers Naudé Local Municipality has been unable to keep up with the water demand through the existing town boreholes.
Endorsed by GOTG, Groenewald visited Graaff-Reinet in March this year, and provided the municipality with a comprehensive report and plan of action to access more groundwater.
SINCE then, however, no other communication ensued between BNLM and the humanitarian organisation.
Questions from the Graaff-Reinet Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRPA) on how the R30 million was applied, have gone unanswered by the municipality.
Samantha Graham-Maré, MP and constituency leader in BNLM, is excited about GOTG’s arrival. “GOTG will alleviate the pressure on the Graaff-Reinet Water Crisis group, municipal water tankers, and councillors who have been working tirelessly to deliver water to those who haven’t had easy access to fresh drinking water in more than two weeks.”
After receiving a hearty Karoo welcome from a thankful crowd at Angel Park, GOTG started dispersing water in the surrounding townships. Sablay said GOTG was working tirelessly to bring water to towns all over the drought-stricken Eastern Cape.
“If all goes well from here, we hope to be able to move into Komani and drill for water there,” Sablay said.
- Komani-Karoo Express was going to print yesterday, news broke that some of GOTG’s equipment had been stolen overnight and the project had stalled. The stolen equipment include rare batteries, drilling tools and spanners, as well as diesel and other essential tools. The cables for the drilling rig had also been tampered with.
The Komani-Karoo Express will have more information about the theft in next week’s edition.
