By Charmaine Ndlela
Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has handed over a new decentralised water supply system at Lukhanyo Secondary School in Mohlakeng, Rand West City, aimed at addressing persistent water interruptions affecting the school and surrounding community.
Majodina, accompanied by Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo, Gauteng MECs, local government leaders and Rand Water officials, officially handed over the system on Monday.
The intervention forms part of government efforts to strengthen water security and ensure learners and staff have access to a safe and conducive learning environment.
Lukhanyo Secondary School, which has about 1,544 learners, has experienced persistent interruptions to its municipal water supply. The unreliable supply affected ablution facilities, contributed to unhygienic conditions and disrupted teaching and learning.
Implemented through the Rand Water Foundation, the new system includes a borehole drilled to a depth of 55 metres, with a yield of about 6,500 litres an hour, two 5,000-litre storage tanks and water filtration units.
Two communal taps have also been installed, with one serving the surrounding community and the other the school.
The handover formed part of a wider ministerial programme in Rand West City, where Majodina and Mahlobo also handed over 150 completed low-flush household sanitation systems in the Zenzele and OR Tambo townships.
The government said the intervention was aimed at addressing sanitation shortages and providing immediate relief to communities lacking adequate sanitation services.
“Today marks more than the hand-over of infrastructure. It is a demonstration of government working together to restore dignity, improve lives and bring essential services closer to communities,” the Department of Water and Sanitation said.
In a statement on X, Rand Water said Rand West City continued to face sanitation and drainage challenges, including overflowing sewage, blocked street drains and poorly maintained waste infrastructure.
It said most informal settlements in the municipality were served by ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets, highlighting the need to expand access to improved sanitation.
The latest handover brings to 430 the total number of low-flush sanitation systems constructed and installed by the Rand Water Foundation in Rand West City since the 2023/24 financial year.
Of these, 80 were installed in 2023/24, 200 in 2024/25 and 150 in 2025/26.
The programme has benefited about 300 women-headed households over the past three years, while creating 200 temporary employment opportunities and supporting four local small, medium and micro enterprises.
The ministerial delegation also inspected household water-storage and supply systems installed through the Rand Water Foundation programme in the Zenzele community.
The department said the intervention demonstrated the importance of cooperation between national, provincial and local government in addressing service-delivery challenges.
Majodina and Mahlobo also handed over a further 100 completed low-flush household sanitation systems in Mimosa Township in the Victor Khanye Local Municipality in Mpumalanga.
The systems are expected to benefit about 500 residents.
The government said the projects formed part of its broader efforts to bring essential services closer to communities, strengthen water security and improve living conditions in areas facing persistent basic service-delivery challenges.
INSIDE EDUCATION
