Motloulela Villagers share drinking water with animals

Motloulela

Thirty years into democracy, the forgotten community members of Motloulela Village in Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality (FTLM) Ward 14, still face serious challenges of shortage of drinkable water. According to residents, it has been over a year now since the community members in the village received water from their taps.

The village has one reservoir which is leaking but can hold water just to reticulate. The water is drawn from Motse River where a holding dam has been built underneath. But the holding dam is full with mud, causing the pump to fail pumping water to fill the reservoir that supplies the village.

This result in the reservoir to dry up because of the supplying dam is filled with mud. A company was appointed to remove the mud; however, it is alleged by residents that ward committees and ward councillor are not willing to work with the service provider so that the mud can be removed and villagers start getting water. The village has several boreholes but they are all dysfunctional.

According to residents, the appointed local water committee seems to have no power to do anything as some ward committees’ members are alleged to be benefiting from those who use trucks to sell water. Residents said the ward councillor is also not doing anything to come up with a solution while people go thirsty and Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) is also not assisting with water tankers.

Terrence Phala, Build One South Africa (BOSA) Leader in SDM, said it is disappointing that the villagers are still subjected to this kind of living conditions where they are forced to spend their last money to buy water from those who have boreholes.

“The situation is dire to a point that they are forced to draw water from a nearby well where they share with animals. The villagers have now resorted to BOSA for help as they have lost hope from their leaders who seem not to care. BOSA will push the lazy leaders in making sure that villagers finally get their water,” he said.

Phala indicated that as the country is heading to the general elections, the party is calling on the villagers who are affected by the water crisis to use their voting powers and remove the lazy leaders who don’t care about their rights.

“BOSA is committed to providing good quality service delivery to our people once we get into power,” he said.

SDM Spokesperson, Lemson Moropjane, said the district municipality is aware of the problem and will take appropriate measures to address water shortages in the village promptly.