NEWS
Boy’s death a political tool
The death of a six-year-old boy
has become a kickball in the battle
between government and Khato Civils
relating to the Giyani water project.
7
Fighting cancer with
On Tap and CHOC
On Tap went big in 2018, choosing to take their
traditional charity drives in a whole new direction.
Little Nsuku Mhlongo died when he fell into a trench
that was left uncovered when Khato Civils abandoned
the project unceremoniously back in September last
year, after months of squabbles over non-payment with
the Department of Water and Sanitation. The boy was
reportedly playing with his friends in the neighbourhood
when he fell into the uncovered pit filled with water.
Khato Holdings group CEO Mongezi Mnyani said in a statement
that Mhlongo’s death was “tragic and regrettable”.
The company dispatched its own team to investigate the incident,
Mnyani said.
“Our team is also working round the clock in conjunction with
Mopani District Municipality to find out what happened and prevent
a recurrence of [a] similar incident in future. We are equally
inquiring to find out the truth because we pulled out of site in
September due to non-payment by the employer. Therefore, for
four months to date, there has been no activities on site and no
maintenance and safeguarding of the pipelines,” he explained.
The project, worth billions, was intended to supply water
to Giyani and surrounding villages, but currently stands
abandoned, apparently at the 92% completion phase with no
water being supplied at all.
Mopani Municipality’s spokesperson Witness Tiva says, “What
we want to see at the end of the day is for that project to be
completed and handed over to us so that we can start supplying
water to our communities.”
But Mnyani insists that as soon as they receive the money,
work can resume. Now a multi-governmental task team has
been established to consider ways of supporting the Mhlongo
family, including paying for their son’s funeral and aiding them in
any legal action they hope to take against Khato Civils.
The team, comprising Mopani District Municipality Mayor
Nkakareng Rakgoale, officials from both provincial and local
Department of Water and Sanitation, Lepelle Northern Water, and
community representatives, also said they would immediately
close uncovered pits to prevent more fatalities.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
By Warren Robertson
From left: Johan van Wyk (On Tap managing director), Jakkie Louw, Agie
Govender (CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa), and Justin
Cohen (Unique Speakers Bureau).
As a national franchise company, On Tap explains that contributions
towards charity are generally made at a store level in their respective
areas. Believing that while these contributions have been invaluable in
the past, On Tap streamlined things to ensure that all charity was brought
together in one place in an attempt to make a significant impact.
“After much research into various charity organisations, CHOC Children’s
Foundation was the one that stood out the most. As a non-profit health system,
CHOC is a national charity organisation with 12 outlets across South Africa. Their
main focus is to provide support and services to children suffering from cancer,
as well as their families and communities, to help make the journey a little bit
easier,” explains On Tap MD, Johan van Wyk.
During the annual On Tap Indaba, the attending On Tap franchisees got together
to pack care packages for the children of CHOC and their moms. A total of 150
care packages consisting of toiletries, toys, and beanies, as well as a microwave,
four oil heaters, dishwashing liquid, and washing powder, were donated. The Salt
Rock Hotel in KwaZulu-Natal also donated ingredients for 70ℓ of soup to assist
CHOC, who provide three meals a day to these children and their moms. The
soup was prepared and cooked by the On Tap franchisee owners themselves,
showing their dedication and compassion towards this great cause.
A special event was organised to conduct the handover of the donated items,
which was done in lieu of a glitzy company awards evening to honour CHOC.
Cancer awareness activist and local artist Jakkie Louw joined the On Tap team
to provide entertainment for the evening, while well-known international author
and public speaker Justin Cohen was the MC for the event. The beautiful décor
was completed by South African artist Bets de Bruyn, who also offered a 20%
donation towards CHOC for all art items sold that evening.
“We would also like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to these industry
suppliers who freely contributed towards the care packages: Alcolin, Hansgrohe,
and NSP, and Vortex Sanitaryware for their very generous cash donation made
on the evening,” says Van Wyk.
February 2019 Volume 24 I Number 12