TEKWANE NORTH – Does every household receive water from the trucks provided by the municipality to ease the backlog? This question was prompted by an interview with a disabled resident,
Ms Bridgette Maphanga, regarding the ongoing shortage in this community.
Maphanga, who lives with her youngest teenage daughter, told this journalist that she had to make sure that she stored enough as, it was cut off. This was due to the fact that she was wheelchair-bound and couldn’t fetch water from a truck that had been provided on certain days or from a nearby communal tap. Following our interview, this journalist spoke to a group of women who were doing their laundry near the communal tap. A 30-year-old unemployed mother of three, Ms Maggie Seshaba, told Mpumalanga News that she had now become used to it.
Hers was one of the few households that had been provided with running water because they didn’t pay the R2 000 that was allegedly required by a Sembcorp Silulumanzi. “I can’t afford it,” she said.
Meanwhile, residents of neighbouring Lehau took to the streets on Sunday in a bid to voice their discontent. One of them
Mr Paul Tibane, said residents started protesting after officials of Sembcorp Silulumanzi cut off water at midday instead of the agreed time which was 17:00 to enable every household to get water.”They did, however, supply them with water at about six after we embarked on a protest, cutting it off at midday.” He added their ordeal started after they realised that only one section of the community was receiving water and as a result people decided to embark on a protest. “We last had water in December and we approached our local councillor, including officials from Sembcorp who then promised they would provide it, but to no avail. Instead we had to beg from our neighbours,” said Tibane.
Local businessman, Mr Paul Tibani told Mpumalanga News that people from Slulumanzi came to open the taps in the morning and were asked to close them at 17:00.
As tempers flared, the community embarked on a strike action which resulted in officials being summoned to the area to reopen the taps until the people had replenished their supplies.When this journalist left the scene, some had not been provided with water since the previous day.
