Residents in Siyanqoba’s surrounding area have been without flowing water for years.

Residents report that they are forced to rely on communal tanks and Emalahleni Local Municipality water trucks, but even this supply is irregular. 

Taps in other portions of Siyanqoba are claimed to have been dry for nearly four weeks because communal tanks have not been refilled.

“We have been without water for four weeks because the communal water tanker in the area has not been filled; we occasionally go and find water from the other area. We also rely on water from the springs, which is very far from here; we are really struggling, especially because we are living with elderly people, and I am also disabled,” said one of the residents. 

A 59-year-old resident has also expressed his concerns about the Siyanqoba water crisis. “We have children and grandchildren who often go to school without bathing due to the lack of water.

“My peers are elderly and sickly men and women who can not take their medication because there is either no water or the water available from the water tanks is dirty. Water is life, without water we have no life,” he complained. 

Another Siyanqoba resident said she had lost track of the number of days she had gone without water. “I have to walk to another neighbourhood to collect water, which is quite far because we have a communal tanker nearby, but we don’t know why it isn’t being filled, and when the water tankers arrive at our side, people fight over the water because they only fill the communal tanks half full,” she said.

Long lines at water wells, streams, and small springs have become an indelible feature of Siyanqoba life.

Some neighbourhood members stated that they live far from the communal tanks and that water is usually finished on delivery days.

According to other residents, they are meant to receive water twice a week, but this is not occurring. “We require water! The last time the councillor visited here, he stated that the pipeline is in phase two and that all will be sorted by 2025,” she said.

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