Estella Naicker
Dave Drysdale could not contain his emotions when called upon to relate what was happening at Hlobane dam during last Tuesday’s water crisis meeting.
The Hlobane dam foreman began by informing stakeholders that there about 20 tankers collecting water from Hlobane, which is distributed in the rural areas that do not have access to boreholes. However, he feared that the limited reserve of water in the dam was going to be depleted soon.
Mr Drysdale broke down and wept when he began to recount how he was threatened by Hlobane hostel residents who decided to deny tankers access to the water in Hlobane Dam until the municipality agreed to meet their demands.
Arrests were made this week on charges of intimidation, however, it is believed, that the charges were dismissed at the Hlobane court.
Hlobane residents said they were unhappy with their meetings with the municipality and will continue to guard the entrance to the Hlobane dam from 4am till 8pm until the municipality is forced to comply with their requests for electrification, sanitation and general repair of the hostels.
They intend to check the water meter readings at the pump every morning to make sure that nobody accesses the dam at night and threatened to lock and barricade the dam altogether if the water meter readings differed in the morning to those taken the previous night.
DA councillor, Harry Heyns, announced, at the meeting, that he had concrete evidence that the tanker drivers were picking up water from the Hlobane dam for the municipality and then accepting bribes to deliver the water privately.
“I have proof that water that was picked up yesterday (last Wednesday) that they said was to be delivered in the Blood River area, was delivered instead to a business in town,” he said.
Stefan Landman of the district municipality encouraged anyone who was aware of this type of criminal activity to lay a complaint at the Zululand District office.
Read previous articles about the issues at Hlobane Dam on www.vryheidherald.co.za
