While there is no shortage of water in the taps, swimming pools and bottles in the greater Potchefstroom, the residents of the new stands in Sarafina Ext. 3 sometimes do not have a drop.
According to one of the residents, Maria Matlhasedi, the NW405 municipality moved them to the new stands a month ago without any proper infrastructure in place.
There were no taps or toilets in the area. ‘We rely on the bowser that delivers water to the area every three days but we have to use it very sparingly because it sometimes doesn’t come for a whole week and we cannot even bath,’ she said.
According to some residents, however, it is not purified water and it sometimes has sand in it. Be that as it may, they have no choice but to drink it and cook with it.
A few hundred metres from these stands, there are houses that do have taps. Maria says they used to ask their neighbours for water but that has now stopped. ‘They say they have to pay for their services and, therefore, they can no longer help us.’
Worst of all, however, the residents are forced to relieve themselves in the bushes because there are no toilets in the area.
Maria admits that their ward councillor is trying to assist them in every way possible. She says he was outraged to hear that the water was not being delivered to the area daily.
Willie Maphosa, the council spokesperson, says the area is roughly divided in two – a low-lying area and one at the top, close to Ext. 13. ‘It is the latter that currently does not have these rudimentary services but the municipality is working as fast as they can to ensure that the infrastructure is provided,’ he said.
‘Two communal taps have already been installed in keeping with the RDP standard of supplying water not more than 200 metres away in areas where there is no formal infrastructure.
The mobile toilets have been ordered and should be in the area soon,’ he said.
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