Mopani district allocates R20m to repair boreholes amid water crisis

The Mopani District Municipality in Limpopo has set aside R20 million to fix boreholes in villages facing acute water challenges.

The majority of about 1.1 million residents there still depend on groundwater, mainly through boreholes. Mayor Pule Shayi told The Citizen yesterday that most parts of the district were hit hard by drought.

“We’re only hoping the beginning of spring, which usually begins with enough rains to fill dams and rivers to capacity, will bring enough rain to thwart this unbearable situation,” he said.

“We currently have 1 715 boreholes, with 306 of them waiting to be energised by Eskom. We have sent applications to Eskom to fast-track the process as many of our villagers are waiting with anticipation for their taps to start producing adequate water.

“We have since provided the necessary infrastructure to communities to mitigate the prolonged drought, but it looks like only rain can solve our problem.

“We are now turning to God to bring more rain in Limpopo so that our boreholes can be able to produce enough water, not only for household needs, but also for irrigation and for our domestic and wild animals.”

Shayi said the Mopani District Municipality had set aside R20 million to specifically deal with boreholes failing to produce water.

“We have also set aside R28 million from our maintenance budget to target specific areas, which critically need attention.

“These include the Mokgoba Sewer, allocated R2.7 million, Nondweni water works allocated R3.5 million to replace a steel storage tank, and to repair two 75kw submersible water pumps, among many other things,” he said.

“We will also be drilling, equipping and testing a borehole at Daniel Rabalela in Bolobedu in order to mitigate the chronic water challenges faced by the community in that part of the area. We will also install four submersible pumps and two mixers at the Giyani wastewater treatment works.”

Shayi said his council has set aside a further R2.3 million to install two water pumps, a valve and 300m-long pipeline from the canal to the Middle Letaba Water Works.

The project, he said, forms part of the R4.5 Presidential Giyani Bulk Water Supply project. A three-week investigation by The Citizen has, however, revealed some villages in Giyani, Ba-Phalaborwa and Relela Cluster are still waiting for the municipality to bring them water.

A visit to several villages in the Relela Cluster at the weekend proved that a Thapane pipeline water project had stopped for months, thus sending communities to rivers and fountains in search of this important basic human need.

A resident, Phillip Machubeni, said the future looks bleak for him and his community. Machubeni lives at the foot of Khemarela/Morutji Mountain in Bolobedu, which is surrounded by a series of fountains and valleys.

Every weekend, his house is full of thirsty neighbours, who fetch untreated water from his tank, which draws water from the fountains through pipes.

“We can see the man (Shayi) is trying. Since his appointment as mayor, more and more communities are beginning to have piped water on their doorstep. But some of us feel like we have been forgotten,” said Machubeni.

“I don’t know what we have done differently because year after year, a new contractor is introduced to us, but nothing comes out of these introductions.”

Shayi said the district had recently received a financial boost of R1.3 billion from the national department of water and sanitation.

He said the money was strictly for reticulating purified water from Nsami and Little Letaba dams to the 55 villages set to benefit from the Giyani Bulk Water project.