Empty water tanks an issue in informal settlement

The Tshwane metro has yet to comment on a clash between residents of Skierliek informal settlement known as Delf in the far east of Mamelodi and truck drivers delivering water to the area.

This came after residents of Delf claimed they are no longer able to fill up their JoJo tanks.

The residents said the water was supposed to be delivered for free but instead the truck drivers, hired by the metro to deliver it, wanted money in return.

One of the residents, Nsovho Ngobeni said “water was life, but the truck drivers want us to pay for water that is meant to be free”.

“The truck drivers charged us from R300 depending on the size of the JoJo tank,” said Ngobeni.

However, the truck drivers have decided not to deliver water for the residents.

Residents of the Skierliek informal settlement at Thabeng section had the same problem but their problem was resolved. Afterwards, the truck drivers decided to stop delivering water for residents in Delf section.

Now the JoJo tanks are empty while a total of 72 families depend on the trucks to deliver water for them.

The residents also claimed a man by the name of Freddy Mosese, believed to be working for the truck company delivering water, took R300 from them and promised to send trucks with water.

Tsakane Chauke said life is hard without water.

“We use water for cooking, bathing and to drink,” said Chauke.

She said like any other informal settlement all they wanted was “basic service delivery”.

“In Skierlik, our only challenge is water and without water, people would die,” she said.

The informal settlement started in 2016 and getting water even then was difficult.

“We don’t have enough tanks for everyone to get water daily,” said Chauke.

“The shortage of water is a big issue. Even drug addicts saw an opportunity to make money by selling 20-litre water buckets for R20.”

Ngobeni added that the government was supposed to give water for free as promised and some of them can’t afford to buy water every week.

“We walk long distances to get water. Sometimes when we get there, we find JoJo tanks empty and sometimes we can’t get any water, because there wasn’t enough for everyone,” said Chauke.

She pleaded with the Tshwane metro or government to please help with the problem.

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