By OBAKENG MAJE
Residents of Maphoitsile village near Taung in North West said lack of accessible clean and drinkable water affects their well-being. According to one of the residents, Luckyboy Tidikwe, it has been over five years since they experienced water challenges in their area.
“The truth be told, we have over five years since we started to experience water challenges in our area. The water that comes out of our taps is dirty and not good for human consumption. As a community, we have tried by all means to have consultative engagements with all stakeholders involved such as Sedibeng Water and the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality.
“However, nothing has changed at all. We have only five working taps across our village because other taps were closed by the Sedibeng Water. This has a bad impact on our livelihoods as we are forced to walk miles before we could have access to clean and drinkable water,” he said.
Tidikwe further said they welcomed the disestablishment of Sedibeng Water. This was announced by the minister of water and sanitation, Senzo Mchunu last week in a statement.
Another resident, Thapelo Saku said another challenge was that Sedibeng Water replaced communal copper taps with plastic ones. He said this causes wastage of water as these taps get broken easily.
“One will see water running down the streets and that is waste. When we report the matter to Sedibeng Water, they will take time before they could come and fix them. Also, the quality of water we are provided with is bad” he said.
The executive mayor at the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, Tebogo Babuile said as the municipality, they are aware of the situation at Maphoitsile.
“We are aware of the situation at Maphoitsile village and other neighbouring areas. Indeed, we have seen pictures of the water coming out of the taps in those areas. But as a carrying municipality, we are working hard to ensure that our people get clean and drinkable water.
“The intention is to ensure that not even a single hour passes without our people getting clean and drinkable water. It is true that we are having challenges with Sedibeng Water and we are just hearing stories that it has been disestablished and Magalies Water will now take over,” Babuile said.
He further said if Sedibeng Water is not coming to play, they will look elsewhere for services. According to Babuile, Sedibeng Water has been given more powers and that needs to stop.
Meanwhile, Mchunu who visited the North West this week said: “Water supply should be at the peak of the province’ service delivery and that all communities should be supplied with clean water.
“There will be a review of water boards broadly and the disestablishment of the Sedibeng Water Board, which has been servicing a bigger part of the North West. At the moment, Magalies Water has been identified as the water board that will in future supply water to the province,” Mchunu said.
He added that water knows no boundaries hence the local, provincial and the national government must work hand in glove in supplying water to all communities. Mchunu said on many occasions, municipalities complain about ageing infrastructure which is mainly caused by lack of capacity or lack of funding.
The Guardian 