Drowning incidents sends shock waves to Sterkfontein Villagers

Sterkfontein

Community members in Sterkfontein Village outside Groblersdal are worried by the recent drowning incidents where two toddlers perished in streams this month.

The first incident occurred at Ramogwerane Section, whereby, a toddler drowned in a stream used by residents to draw drinking water. It is alleged by residents that the child was on her way home from school when the freak accident happened.

A few days later, another drowning incident that shocked the community occurred at Nkadimeng Section in the same village. According to residents, it is believed the three-year-old was playing with friends when allegedly, he accidentally fell in the stream and lost his life instantly. The stream is used by the community to draw drinking water for almost the past fifty years.

Now residents in the village blame Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) for the incidents, saying the unfortunate incidents would never have happened if there was appropriate water supply in the area.

A community leader, Jimmy Nkadimeng, said they are greatly saddened as the community about the way the two children died.

“We want to cover the streams, but we do not have any other water supply source. If only the municipality had supplied the village with water, the children would probably still be alive,” he said.

Nkadimeng added that since 1969 when the streams were first used to collect water, these incidents of drowning are a first for them.

“We know that children are at risk and all these years we ensured that we protect them from going to play near the stream. It is unfortunate that the incidents occurred in the absence of an adult person who could have prevented it by removing the children near the stream,” he said.

Nkadimeng indicated that following the incident, the community was urged to drain the water and continue drinking from the same stream.

“There is no other alternatives the community can use to get drinking water. We had to remove the water and continue drinking even after the unfortunate incident,” he said.

He said they have been pleading with the municipality to get clean drinking water for many years and the officials and councilors failed to address their needs for water provisions.

“The plea for water has been happening since the dawn of democracy. We are worried that other villages are developed but nothing is happening in Sterkfontein,” he said.

Another community leader, Herbert Radingwana, said he had been fighting a water crisis battle in Sterkfontein for many years.

“Residents are drinking water with animals for many years now without any municipality intervention. It is heartbreaking now because children are starting to lose their lives from the same streams that provides the community with drinking water,” he said.

Radingwana said he had reported the water crisis issue to the Public Protector, however, his plea was sabotaged by SDM claiming to supply water to the village thorough water tankering.

“The only time when we see a water tanker truck in the village is when there is a funeral in a family that is connected with the municipality officials or councilors,” he said.

However, Sekhukhune District Municipality Communications Manager, Khomotso Ndlovu, insisted that as a temporary measure, the district municipality provides water through water tanker trucks in Sterkfontein.

“The municipality has drilled a borehole in the village and is currently not functional as the area is dry. We, however, are in the process of fixing the dry borehole,” he said.