Western Cape premier Alan Winde has prioritised the raising of the Brandvlei Dam wall as water security continues to top the province’s agenda. He identified it as a key project to make the Winelands and Langeberg regions more water secure and provide much-needed irrigation for the agricultural sector. Speaking in the provincial parliament recently, Winde said it could also unlock thousands of hectares of land for emerging black farmers. “Raising the wall of the Brandvlei Dam feeder canal by only 30cm will increase the dam’s storage capacity and open up water rights for farming. At a cost of R20 million, this project makes sound economic and ecological sense,” said Winde. “And yet it has travelled through 17 departments or entities – each with varying degrees of interest and enthusiasm – for the last five years. Quite simply, it is stuck in the mud of bureaucracy.” He said while the dam fell squarely under the remit of the national government, the province was tired of the stalling. “I have told President Ramaphosa this, and I am saying it here today: if this project does not break free from its muddy hold and get approval soon, we will go ahead and we will do it ourselves.”
