Water crisis persist to drain residents

LEEUWFONTEIN – Lack of access to water in Leeuwfontein outside Marble Hall and other communities in wards 9, 10, 11 and 12 within Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality (EPMLM) still remains a nightmare for residents who are forced to fetch from available water sources they share with animals.

Disturbing sight of people trying to access water from holes and ditches they share with animals in the area, a situation threatening their health, remains the order of the day.

The residents are forced to take the murky water, possibly contaminated and surrounded by animal feaces and other rubbish, they fetch from these sources to their homes for household usage.

For years, Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) has not been able to provide access to running water for residents in the majority of the wards.

Adding to their plight, residents say they have not seen a water truck making deliveries of water for months and when the trucks come, they only serve a selected few and often request payments of R3 per small drum from the poorest of the poor.

The residents further expressed dismay over the district municipality’s lack of priorities as they currently experienced other projects in the area instead of water provisioning.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo on Tuesday said it would lodge a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the lack of access to water in the area.

The DA said it would further petition the Department of Water and Sanitation as well as CoGTA for action in the area as there were many questions the municipality and the national departments ought to answer to.

Lindy Wilson, DA political head for EPMLM, said the residents have had every last ounce of dignity taken from them.

Wilson said digging holes to get water while keeping the cows and goats at bay, once again highlighted that the ANC cared nothing for the very people who voted for them.

Last week, Leeuwfontein experienced the commencement of an interim water crisis relief project which saw the erection of stands on which water storage tanks are expected to be installed, at strategic places in the area.

At the time, Moloko Moloto, SDM Spokesperson, said members of the community made submissions to the district municipality for a temporary intervention as the upgrading of the Flag Boshielo Water Treatment Plant was work in progress.

Moloto further said that SDM would fill and replenish the water storage tanks using tankers, once installation was completed in the coming days.

He added that once completed and operational, the Flag Boshielo Water Treatment Plant would supply Leeuwfontein area with water.