16 people have been arrested for public violence after the community protests in Sheepmoor last Tuesday.
Violence erupted last Monday when residents burned tyres and barricaded the road going into Sheepmoor and the N2 between Ermelo and Piet Retief.
The 16 appeared in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday to face a charge of public violence. Their case was postponed and they appeared in court on 25 October.
Schools had to be closed with no vehicle going in or out of Sheepmoor and a nearby farm’s forestry was partly burned to the ground.
The people were protesting over the lack of water in the area. The small town has been without water for the past four months.
It currently relies on boreholes as a primary water source. The boreholes are not reliable and the community reports a constant lack of a sustainable water supply. From time to time during the dry season, the small town experiences inadequate water supply, mostly attributed to low groundwater leÂvels.
According to residents in the area, the problem has been going on for years.
A service protest delivery on 11 September brought the matter to the fore, forcing Msukaligwa Municipality to take note and visit the area to assess the situation.
At the time the municipality told the community an investigation was conducted to check the status quo of existing water groundwater sources and a hydrogeological investigation was commissioned.
Municipal spokesman Mr Mandla Zwane said the investigation revealed, among others, that the groundwater at Sheepmoor is insufficient as a primary water source and can only be considered as an option to augment an alternative bulk water supply system.
He added that options were proposed for a long-term solution, the main one being that the municipality was currently engaging the Department of Water and Sanitation (provincial and national) and Gert Sibande District Municipality for assistance on the options, as this forms part of the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant Programme.
They proposed the date of 16 October for commencement of a project to resolve the water issue.
However, the date came last Monday and no work began, forcing residents to take to the streets.
Executive Mayor of Gert Sibande District Municipality (GSDM), Mr Muzi Chirwa visited the area last Tuesday to address protesters.
GSDM has since released a statement saying it was committing resources to support the local municipality to resolve the water problem in Sheepmoor.
Msukaligwa’s Mr Zwane has confirmed a solution is on the cards with the local municipality taking steps to address the issue through water tankers, while finalising the permanent solution, a project which is a process that requires patience from residents.
He said a project of this magnitude entails planning, including the registering of the project, applying for a water use licence, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), designing, implementation, construction and commission of sustainable water supply scheme.
“The community of Sheepmoor is kept abreast of all the above through several community meetings, community leaders and the ward councillor. The last meeting was convened on 15 October 2017 by the ward councillor for the sole purpose of updating the community on the water challenges,” he said
In the meantime the municipality is to supply water through water tankers as and when required to the area.
Mr Zwane urged residents not to pay for water from the tankers as it is free.
If anyone is made to pay, they must report the matter to the councillors and the Municipal Call Centre immediately.
The situation in Sheepmoor at the time of going to print was despondent with residents shaken over the arrest of the 16 protesters.
One resident even claimed that to this day no water tanker has been seen in Sheepmoor.
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