Water situation is critical and still deteriorating

DA Councillor Marget MaCniel writes:

In August 2011 in had written in a report “The water comes from the reservior situated in Dan village. part of it was pumped into two reserviors above Mokgoloboto. The pump was presumably stolen. I wrote further “Walking and driving through the village could be dangerous at night or on rainy days as there are deep creavasses due to erosion. Litter everywhere”.

Today in the village none of the pipes are functioning. No more water brought to the clinic. Water is conveyed from Nkowankowa only when funerals take place.

On the top of Mokgoloboto Hill, though not seen from the village itself group of 18 reserviors mounted on metalic structures (15.000 to 20.000 L each i presume) stand idle and would never been connected to any water source. According to the local people they have been part of the landscape for three years.

In order to get water, expect for the priviledged few boreholes, people have to push wheelbarrows across the R36 and get the precious liquid from an essential made up of RDP houses.

The people in need of water depend on the goodwill of their neighbours. When none is available they have to rely on pumps which is not easily accessible further east. The average time needed for transport is of order of one and a half hours a day per household, not to mention the risk involved in crossing R36 with a wheelbarrow.

Walking above Mokgoloboto it is distressing to see beautiful indigenous such as kiaat having been partly chopped down…a sure way towards desertification. Further down we saw the poor remains of rivulets that are used as washing areas.

In short, the water situation is critical, it has deteriorated further. The litter remains as before.

A village that could have charm is not a happy sight.