The War on Leaks team has welcomed 7 000 new trainees as part of Phase 2.

The Phase 2 training officially began on 10 August, following vigorous preparation from the War on Leaks team.

Addressing the new trainees, Fezeka Zwane from War on Leaks said, “Trainees, the ball is in your court now. The future of our beloved country lies in your hands. Today is the moment of truth and the War on Leaks team welcomes you all onto the programme and looks forward to seeing you grow and be moulded into leaders. So trainees show up and show off. Best wishes to all the candidates for Phase 2.”

President Jacob Zuma launched government’s War on Leaks programme in August last year in a bid to curb water losses which costs the country R7 billion a year.

The programme is designed to recruit and train a total of 15000 artisans, plumbers and water agents.

The War on Leaks project is set out in three phases that will be carried out over a period of five years (2015 – 2020). Phase 1 kicked off on 1 September 2015, with 3000 trainees contracted. The trainees are currently training at TVET colleges in various disciplines, namely plumbing, instrumentation, fitting and turning, electrical, and welding.

The War on Leaks team received over 12 000 CVs from the 41 priority municipalities. The team contracted candidates from all nine provinces in a joint effort with the appointed recruitment service provider.