LANGELOOP – Last Friday residents took to the streets and barricaded the main road to Driekoppies and Schoemansdal.
They wanted to vent their anger and dissatisfaction with the municipality’s failure to deliver water to the community. They said they had been without water since November, while water tankers were delivering only to individuals who had paid for it.
“We have not had water since November, but municipal water tankers pass us by and deliver only to those who pay. We had no other choice, we had to take to the streets,” explained Ms Mavis Dlamini, one of the protesters.
Residents, however, welcomed the swift reaction by ANC leaders and municipal officials.
Two water tankers were immediately tasked to go to the community and provide people with water on a daily basis.
Spokesman for the Nkomazi Municipality, Mr Cyril Ripinga, said the allegations of water being sold were serious and needed to be investigated.
Ripinga regarded the residents’ grievances as genuine, however, the ever-increasing number of new households made it difficult for the municipality to keep up.
“We are seriously looking into the community’s water crisis. We have sent in two water tankers to deliver to every household and will continue to do so. We will have a meeting with the community to see how best we can come up with a temporary solution while water pipes are being installed.
“However, the mushrooming of houses in the area makes it difficult for the municipality to keep up. Nevertheless, the people are there now and they are ours, and it is our responsibility to serve them and deliver services,” he explained.
Ripinga said the locals were understanding and welcomed the municipality’s response. He had promised to monitor water deliveries daily.
