BY ERIC MATOME KGOMO
SIYABUSWA: Residents in the drought-stricken dr js moroka local municipality says they are urged to go without potable water for days, as a result of the local municipality’s failure to supply drinkable water. This is after taps in the municipality have run dry in the past few years, with one of its main water source, mkhombo dam, experienced a significant drop in water level and dried up. According to residents, water challenges are not properly addressed by the municipality, subjecting the community to buy water or resorting to drink with animals from the nearby streams and wells in areas of kaatjibane and mokgwaneng. The water shortage problem is also affecting where residents pay for water every month.
A resident, christopher mhlanga from section d in siyabuswa, told timeless news that they experience extreme water cuts, even when they are sent bills to pay for water. “We sometimes go without water for about six months, while paying for municipality services,” he said. Mhlanga said there is no contingency plan to solve water problem issues in the municipality.
“Residents here buy water to survive or drill boreholes in their yards. That is the only way to survive water crisis facing our municipality,” he said. Da caucus leader in the municipality, cllr thapelo mokoala, said the party has challenged water crisis issues in the municipality without seeing the problem being addressed. “Yes we understand that water challenge is a national matter at the stage. But it could have been handled better by the municipality to supply drinkable water to the communities,” he said. Mokoala lambasted the municipality for failing to complete a water infrastructure project from loskop dam that was aiming to supply water to residents after the drying-up of mkhombo dam. “About R20 million was set aside for the project but it was never completed because of corruption. Another project on which millions were budgeted to provide boreholes as a temporary measure was also never materialized. The boreholes were only constructed in yards of councilors while the community struggles to get water,” he said. Mokoala said the only intervention the municipality has is through water tankering, which is inadequate due to the vast area of the rural dr js moroka local municipality. Dr js moroka local municipality spokesperson masabatha ramatsetse, said the municipality is experiencing an excessive water demand as a result of drying-up of mkhombo dam. “In areas where there is water shortages, we dispatch water tankers to supply water to the residents,” she said. Ramatsetse added that the only time when siyabuswa d section experience water cuts is only when there is maintenance of infrastructure. “It is not true that there no water in the area for six months at siyabuswa d and we urge residents to pay for water they consume,” she said.
