Water at any cost
THE Dopeni community near Louis Trichardt recently decided to take the matter of having no water into their own hands, and broke the concrete manhole of the government’s pipeline in order to fetch clean water for their homes.
LIMPOPO – THE Dopeni community near Louis Trichardt recently decided to take the matter of having no water into their own hands, and broke the concrete manhole of the government’s pipeline in order to fetch clean water for their homes.
This community is just just one of those in the province suffering without running water.
Residents said they were tired of sharing water with animals in a polluted river. They further said they last saw a drop of water from their taps in December last year. The Thulamela Municipality, which resorts under the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), always promised to provide water in tankers, but they only came once a month, residents said.
“We illegally opened the manhole of the government pipeline in order to get clean water. We have to climb down the manhole to fetch clean water,” residents explained.
They further said they had been left with no alternative. “Those who have boreholes in their yards are gaining, because they charge around R2 per 25 litres of water. Those who are able to deliver, charge R10 per 25 litre water container.”
One of the villagers, Joyce Mulaudzi, said it was not right that they did not have access to clean water while municipal officials enjoyed lives of luxury. She said villagers were tired of the Thulamela Municipality’s empty promises about getting water from the Nandoni dam.
DA councillor in the VDM, Vhathu Mulaudzi, said for almost three years residents in villages such as Mandala Tshamuganame, Tshikombani, Masisi, Muswodi, Dopeni and Folovhodwe had been without tap water.
He said the VDM had failed to solve a massive water crisis despite a budget of R605 million to address the water crisis in 2014/15 financial year.
“Last year they announced they were going to start connecting prepaid water meters before the end of September 2014, but the project has not yet started.
“All these promises were made before the national elections and it’s clear that they were just cheap tricks to win votes.
“We have petitioned the Vhembe mayor, Tshitereke Matibe, to urgently provide water tankers for the residents as an interim relief measure,” Mulaudzi said.
ANC ward councillor, Livhuwani Maduse, dismissed claims that he was not attending to the problems. He confirmed that the residents of Dopeni village were facing a water problem. He said he had reported the matter to the VDM to address the problem.
VDM spokesperson, Matodzi Ralushai said the municipality delivered water to the area by means of water tankers.
He warned residents against procuring water by illegal means.
