BOPHELONG – While the Department of Water and Sanitation called on everyone to dedicate their 67 minutes of goodwill activities towards maintaining clean water, Bophelong is left with dry taps.
As the world celebrated Mandela Day, hundreds of residents jumped the golden highway with wheelie bins, wheelbarrows, and 20-liter buckets to get water from a neighboring brick factory.
Hundreds used one small tap to pour water into their containers in order to be able to cook, bathe, clean, and wash their clothes.
Sedibeng Ster spoke with a number of furious residents who said they were told the water problem was going to last for a few hours, almost a week later, they continue to march across the provincial road.
The disastrous water crisis was due to supply interruption due to technical challenges at a Rand Water pump station which left reservoirs empty.
Nomvula Zwane (28) who carried her toddler on her back said they have no hope to see water back anytime.
“We have since received one communique almost a week ago, and since then, no message is sent to us. We don’t have the status on when will the taps run water again. Our hopes are very down,” she said.
“Today is Mandela Day, politicians will be going up and down sharing love, when they fail to share the one basic human right. One can’t stop to wonder how they going to do their good without water,” she added.
Ntando Khoza (33) said he goes to fetch water twice a day for his family.
“Two 20-litre buckets are very small. We use the water to flush our toilets, bathe with it, cook, and do our laundry. This is somehow a violation of human rights. Almost all these townships in our area are without water. Imagine how long this queue is when people are back from work and school,” he said.
Emfuleni Local Municipality spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni said they are working towards resolving the headache.
“We issued a communique to notify consumers of affected areas such as Three Rivers, Sebokeng, Evaton, including Vanderbijlpark. Efforts to normalize supply are underway, the reservoirs are filling up,” he said.
