Polokwane water crisis leaves disabled Seshego resident stranded
The water crisis in Polokwane has forced wheelchair-bound Abel Mamabolo (70) from Zone 2 to fetch water himself at a municipal park, despite warnings from officials that it is not permitted.
POLOKWANE – The ongoing water crisis in Polokwane Municipality has left residents, particularly the vulnerable, struggling to cope with inconsistent supply.
In Seshego, the situation has forced wheelchair-bound Abel Mamabolo (70) from Zone 2 to fetch water himself at a municipal park, despite warnings from officials that it is not permitted.
Mamabolo, who lives about a kilometre from the park, pushes his wheelchair along the sidewalks to collect water for drinking, cleaning, and bathing.
If no one is available to assist him, he waits for a passerby to help place a bag filled with two-litre water bottles on the back of his wheelchair before making his way home.
He describes the ordeal as exhausting and humiliating, expressing his hope that the municipality would improve water provision. Other affected residents voiced similar frustrations, stating they had lost faith in the municipality’s ability to provide a consistent water supply.
Violet Seroka from Zone 2, eMlanjeni, said residents had initially hoped that the construction and operation of the Seshego Water Treatment Plant would alleviate the problem, but instead, the situation has worsened.
The municipality has often blamed the disruptions on ongoing repairs to aging infrastructure at Lepelle Northern Water, its bulk water supplier, as well as power outages caused by Eskom. On Sunday, municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala announced that the area was experiencing a “worsened water supply disruption,” calling it a “double trouble” situation.
“Polokwane Municipality regrets to inform residents and stakeholders that, in addition to the ongoing challenges on the Olifantspoort line, the municipality has received a report that the Ebenezer Plant has also gone offline due to a power outage since 04:00 this morning,” Selala said.
He assured residents that Lepelle Northern Water was working to restore operations at the affected plants. However, for residents who had briefly seen water flowing from their taps from Friday until Sunday morning, this news came as another major setback.
