TWENTY water tankers were delivered to uMzinyathi and uMvoti municipalities on Saturday.
The official handover was held at King Edward Park in Greytown.
uMzinyathi District Municipality is one of the districts in KwaZulu-Natal that has been severely affected by the drought that has plagued practically the entire country over the past few years.
With the district comprising mainly rural areas, delivering water to its citizens is a mammoth task and the additional new water tankers — worth R39 million — are to be used to ease the pressure.
uMzinyathi District Municipality Communications Manager Nomonde Nzimakwe said the tankers were purchased to “reach even the most isolated parts of the district; and to address water shortages in the areas of Msinga, Nquthu, uMvoti, and Endumeni.”
Speaking on the tankers, uMzinyathi District Municipality Mayor Petros Ngubane said: “I am proud to introduce these water tankers to amakhosi [chiefs] and uMzinyathi citizens. These trucks must be handled with care and allocated accordingly. Water tankers are expected to serve the people of uMzinyathi without any political interference. People of all areas must be treated equally, and served with dignity.
“The water in these trucks is not for sale, no one should be subjected to buying water delivered by these trucks.”
