A desperate community

LIMPOPO – RESIDENTS of Nsavulani village fetch their water from a broken pipeline along the road about 5km away from the village because, according to them, there is no water supply to the village.

According to the residents, the last time they had running water in the village was before 1994. Currently their main water supply is one borehole situated at the far end of the village, which is said to cater for only those who are close to it. “Most of us who do not have the strength to walk long distances buy water from those with boreholes inside their yards,” Evelyn Mabunda, one of the residents in the village, said.

Some residents have resorted to perforating a pipeline that passes by the village to avoid buying water or walking long distances to fetch water. Asked if they had complained to the local municipality about their problem, some said they were tired of complaining because they were not getting a positive response, and accused their ward councillor of doing nothing about their problem.

“As far as we know we don’t have a ward councillor… we’re only waiting for 2016 so we can elect a new one,” said Nhluvuko Baloyi, one of the residents at the village.

Neil Shikwambana, spokesperson for the Mopani District Municpality, which is responsible for water supply to the communities around the district, said they were aware of the situation in the area, and that, the district was working on fixing it.

“The pipeline is highly perforated and as a result, some residents do not receive water supply due to low pressure caused by perforations along it,” he explained. “The district is replacing old infrastructure which is one of the major causes why some communities do not have water. The problem of old infrastructure was not only found in Giyani but throughout the district. We’re working on fixing the main pipelines so we would improve the water flow,” he said, appealing to communities to desist from perforating pipelines.