Joburg Water gives Ennerdale work opportunities

16 February 2016

 

Johannesburg Water – the City of Johannesburg’s water and sanitation entity – on Monday February 15 offered Ennerdale co-operatives and small township businesses two work packages under Jozi@Work, the City’s R3-billion empowerment and job creation programme.

 

No values were attached to the work packages but Joburg Water’s Ebrahim Hajee told the dozens of people who had gathered at the Ennerdale Civic Centre for the briefing that the pricing would be in accordance with national regulations relating to minimum wages and sector determination guidelines.

Jozi@Work, the brainchild of Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau, seeks to assist in the fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality by affording ordinary residents the opportunity to provide the City with a range of services, such us refuse removal, cleaning, landscaping, gardening, repairs and maintenance, to mention a few, instead of contracting established companies to carry out the work. The first work package presented in Ennerdale entails the cleaning, painting and labelling of valve chambers that reticulate water supply.

“The major problem faced by Joburg Water in maintaining storm and water pipes is blocked chambers,” said Hajee.“The chamber valves are either full of rubble, blocked by grass or have been vandalised.”

To address the problem, Hajee said, beneficiaries would have to undertake preventative maintenance. He said over and above this, the beneficiaries would be expected to remove weeds and cut the grass within a 1m radius of the chambers. The second work package involves the replacement and maintenance of communal taps on existing standpipes in informal settlements. The work package aims to ensure that there is a communal tap within a 200m radius and that blocked drains or gulleys around the standpipes are cleared and excess material and waste disposed of.

Hajee said vandalism and illegal water connections were another major problem faced by Joburg Water. He said the entity was in the process of acquiring “vandal-proof” taps.

“We aim to install taps that are difficult to vandalise. The beneficiaries of this work package will help us to install these,” he said.

“The work will be supervised by the Capability Support Agent (CSA), who will be the link between the beneficiaries and Joburg Water,” Hajee said.

Among the hopefuls at the briefing was 35-year-old Sipho Mancada. Mancada, who is married with two children, is a handyman.

“I applied last year for an electrification project. I was not successful but I will not give up. That is why I’m here,” he said.

He added that he had been pursuing other opportunities with other government agencies such as the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller.

“I can’t just sit back and do nothing. I have to try my luck and look at other opportunities,” he said.