Scores of Lepelle Northern Water employees were this morning barred from entering the offices as the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) raided the building.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the raid is in relation to the R2bn Giyani water  project. 

"We are here to look for a list of documents that will assist us in completing our investigations. We have been asking for the documents and Lepelle Northern Water has been refusing to give them to us hence we obtained a court order for raid and seizure," he said. 

Kganyago added that the state water implementing agent was not cooperating with the investigation. 

"Some of the senior officials even went to court in an attempt to stop the investigation," he said.

More than thirty employees are still camping outside their offices waiting for SIU to complete raid. 

Lepelle Northern Water spokesperson Simon Mpamonyane said they had been cooperating with the investigation. 

"We gave the SIU information before and they had to come back for additional information. At the time they obtained the court order, we were about to furnish them with another list of information," he said. 

He said the department of water and sanitation has allocated R500m which is needed to complete the project. 

Government has already spent R2bn on the project which was aimed at benefiting 55 villages in the Mopani district.