Sekhukhune residents plead with SDM to solve water crisis
Mabotsha’s water problems are in contradiction to what the SDM has promised. The municipality has vowed to fight water problems in local villages.
BURGERSFORT –Mabotsha residents at Ga-Mokobola have been without water for the past four months. According to the community, since the pump broke, no one has bothered to fix it.
The residents alleged that the machinery used in distributing water in the village is old and always faulty. “We now have to rely on buying water; this is a major concern for us as most of us do not work.
The authorities need to at least supply us with water tankers as they do with other villages struggling with water.
“We never believed that 28 years after democracy we would still be struggling with basic needs such as water,” said one of the residents.
The community members pleaded with the Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) to ensure water is restored to the village.
Mabotsha’s water problems are in contradiction to what the SDM has promised. The municipality has vowed to fight water problems in local villages.
On February 9, when Julia Mathebe was announced as the executive mayor of SDM, she launched Operation Tlema Tekkiere Nwe Meetse, loosely translated as “Let us work hard to ensure people have water”.
“This is a call to action to all of us, from the executive mayor, MMCs and ward councillors to municipal officials at every level,” said Mathebe.
“Under this operation, I will join the blue collar workers at the site and brave the scorching heat, if that is what it’ll take for the people of Sekhukhune to get water. We will hit the ground running.”
She outlined her key priorities for the next 100 days. The included doing an audit of all major water schemes and projects, deciding on the intervention, and seeking an audience with the minister of water and sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, to fast-track the collaborative process he has already put in place to unlock the De Hoop Dam Scheme.
She also planned to engage local and small business enterprises and Magosi to ensure water projects proceed seamlessly. Steelburger/Lydenburg News understands that Ga-Mphethi, Ga-Motodi, Magaba Park, Malepe and many more communities in the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality are still struggling to access water.
With regard to the water challenges at Mabotsha, the newspaper sent queries to SDM’s spokesperson, Moloko Moloto. At the time of going to press he had yet to respond
