Premier and MEC duck promise to drink Carolina water

07 August 2012

Note to editors: The following member’s statement was delivered by Anthony Benadie
to the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature on 7 August 2012

During press briefing in Mbombela on July 23, the HOD of the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, Mr David Mahlobo told the media that premier David Mabuza and cooperative governance MEC Madala Masuku would go to Carolina sometime the following week and drink water from the community’s taps to show that it is safe to do so.

Since then, neither the premier nor MEC have gone to Carolina, with the MEC’s visit scheduled for this morning, postponed – we are told, indefinitely.

The DA is hardly surprised at both the Premier and the MEC’s reluctance to drink the water, as the purification plant only purifies enough water for about two-thirds of the community every day. In fact, the premier and MEC have probably also been made aware of the fact that the purified water becomes polluted again once it enters the pipes, and that there’s no guarantee that clean water would come out of the tap they chose to drink from.

It seems that Mr Mahlobo simply used the so-called Carolina visit as a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from explaining why he is the only HOD who gets his own bodyguards and “blue light” escort.

Media enquiries:

Anthony Benadie MPL
083 400 8554

Willie Venter
Provincial media liaison
082 319 6666