Residents have not had running water for the last 20 years and were forced to buy water from community members with boreholes, money they do not always have. Emmanuel Rikhotso said that he observed that it was able to get water to the local reservoir but that the municipality did not make work of it. “Every time the municipality come here, they dig up the pipes and end up leaving it as is,” Rikhotso told the Herald. “I suggested to residents that we collect money from households to buy equipment to clean the pipes to let the water through.”
He says community members complied and they started with a project to get water to the village. “We did everything, and by March 8, we had running water after more than 20 years. The best part is that the whole village now has water,” he said. However, he said that new stands in the village still have no water as they do not have water pipes laid to their houses and that they do not have enough money to buy pipes to get them connected. Households who did not want to contribute before, have seen the success of the project and are now willing to contribute.
“This means that with the additional money, we will be able to also supply water to the new stands.” He said they also do not have boreholes to provide them with water temporarily. “I think as a community, this has been the best decision we have taken. We plead with everyone to help us extend the pipes to the new stands”. Jones Ramoshoana, a resident and one of the committee members of the water project, said residents are finally standing together for the good of their community.
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“We have repaired the pipes which were laid more than 30 years ago by the late HW Ntsan’wisi.” He said they have a temporary committee to see the project to the end. “We took it upon ourselves to solve our problems, as the municipality has sidelined us. Going forward, we plan to keep the pipes clean, install 40 more pipes, and assist with a pipeline to the new stands,” he said. He said the municipality has failed the residents of Daniel Rababalela.
“The pipes have not had water since 1998 because of the blocked pipes. We tried to report it on multiple occasions over the years, but they never listened.” He said the ward councillor has not engaged the community of Daniel Rababalela since 2021. “As a ward councillor, you are supposed to quarterly report back to communities in your ward. “So far, in Daniel Rababalela, it has not happened. Residents have no idea who their ward councillor is,” Ramoshoana said. The Herald reached out to the Greater Giyani Municipality for comment but none was received at the time of going to press. The GGM’s reply on the matter will be published once received.
