While a large proportion of the boreholes in Mopani District Municipality are not working, politicians campaigning in the area have promised to do better.
Picture: iStock (For illustration only)
The Mopani District Municipality has spent more than R750 million drilling boreholes since 2002, yet many have failed to produce a single drop of water.
The district, with nearly 1.2 million residents, has 1 741 boreholes. But only 991 are functional. Eskom still needs to energise 309, while equipment was stolen from 74 and 84 were vandalised.
‘We will correct where we failed’
Despite this, newly appointed Mopani District Mayor Dagma Mamanyoha promised residents at an imbizo in Sekororo, Hoedspruit, that water was on the way.
“It should be one village at a time. We promised you during our manifesto launch that we will deliver basic services to you without fail. We also promised that we will provide you with water and electricity connections. We said we will turn gravel into tar or pave roads. We promised you a roof over your head and a dignified sanitation programme. We promised you that we will take your children to no-fee schools and feed them through our nutrition programme, and we said we will create jobs and fight crime, fraud and corruption,” he said.
“We might not have delivered all we promised at once, but we are confidently saying to you now that help is on the way. We will correct where we failed and improve where we started,” Mamanyoha said.
Concerns over theft and vandalism
The mayor said the municipality was worried about the theft of borehole equipment, vandalism and boreholes that failed to produce water.
“These government services we are bringing to you are yours. You must therefore guard them jealously. If you steal borehole equipment, it means you are stealing from your own community; you are stealing your own water. This means you, your children, your parents and your entire community will go for months without this important basic human right,” he said.
Mamanyoha also raised concerns about water losses from pipe leaks, bursts and unbilled water stolen by water mafias. He urged residents to report vandalism and leaks to authorities or law enforcement.
Three months ago, the Department of Water and Sanitation revealed that South Africa loses about R26 billion annually to water losses, driven largely by ageing infrastructure, leaks, illegal connections and poor municipal maintenance.
