MBOMBELA – When Rand Water took over from Bushbuckridge Water last year, community members were excited and hopeful that their water woes would finally be laid to rest.
However, a year later many citizens from different rural villages are back to singing the same old woeful tune.
Earlier this year, it has been protest after protest with frustrated residents vandalising properties, blockading roads and burning tyres.
In another gripe, a 15-year-old boy was shot dead, allegedly by police, during a service delivery protest between Acornhoek and Bushbuckridge.
Lucas Lebyane was shot when protesters from Casteel village blockaded the R40 with rocks and burning tyres demanding that the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality provide them with water.
“It’s been only words, no deeds and we don’t know what steps to take anymore. There are boreholes that are just standing there and not serving their purpose.
Sometimes they will work for a little while and when we think that things are fine, they stop working.
There are issues with maintenance as well,” said Mr Lucky Lebambo of Casteel.
Rumour has it that Bushbuckridge Water Board was abolished after the minister of environmental affairs, Ms Edna Molewa was embarrassed during her visit to Bushbuckridge last year.
“The minister only gave the notice after she was called to Sidlamakhosi in Bushbuckridge to launch a water project but only to be embarrassed as there was no water to launch despite the Bushbuckridge Water Board operating in the area,”said the then spokesperson for COPE, Mr Riot Hlatswayo.
However, according to reports, the department stated that the decision to abolish the board had been made after an investigation had shown that there were many boards in the country which needed to be realigned.
The big question now is, is Rand Water going the same route as Bushbuckridge Water? In a quest to respond to this question, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality’s (BLM) communications manager, Mr Aubrey Mnisi, took this journalist on a tour to prove that illegal water connections impacted negatively on service delivery.
In Mkhuhlu, residents have resorted to connecting water pipes from the main reservoir which, according to Mr Oris Maluleke of the BLM water services, hampers service delivery.
Maluleke added there were projects that Rand Water together with BLM were busy with and that people should be patient and use the communal taps that had been provided.
Executive mayor of the municipality,
Mr Rhenias Khumalo, has called on community members to refrain from illegal connections as they damaged infrastructure.
“Water shortages in some areas can be attributed to these
connections on the bulk pipeline which reduces the system’s pressure. This affects water provision to high laying areas,” said Khumalo, further advising residents to be vigilant and report acts of vandalism, theft and any illegal connections to water committees and ward councillors in their respective villages.
Khumalo also strongly condemned group formations who made community members pay to illegally connect water for them from the main bulk water supply.
“The municipality is the only authorised service to provide members of the community with water in the municipal area of jurisdiction,” Khumalo added.
