Residents in Hammanskraal who can't get water from tankers often have to buy water from other community members. Picture: Michele Spatari / AFP)
In a community starved of the basic right to water, enterprising residents in Hammanskraal have taken to selling the scarce resource to their neighbours for as much as 12 times more than what it would cost them in town.
Failure to maintain the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) has left residents with dirty or no water for over 15 years.
Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka last year found the City of Tshwane had failed to provide “clean water suitable for human consumption” in the area.
Sewage routinely spills into the Apies River, which feeds into the Leeuwkraal Dam. The dam provides water – contaminated by bacteria such as e-coli – to the community.
This has forced residents to either rely on the assistance provided by the city or purchase their own water.
The City has provided water tankers to the community. However, there have been complaints by residents that this service is inconsistent.
“One week they arrive, one week they don’t … We have become something we are not. We were going forward, now we are going backwards,” musician and community member Goodwill Malinga, popularly known as Dr Malinga, told The Citizen.
Malinga explained that when water is delivered, it is often not enough for all the Hammanskraal residents.
The Malinga family uses more than 32 litres a day and the musician said the burden has become too heavy to bear.
“Now we are spending money on something we should never spend money on… Many people are unemployed, so it’s killing our community.”
“The government doesn’t care about us. It’s been years, not months. They don’t care about our feelings or our children.”
In the face of water delivery failure, some residents have seen opportunity. They have started their own water purification business and sell stored water at a premium.
“They bought purifying machines, and they are selling to the community. Other people are selling water from their tanks,” said Malinga.
“However, the prices are highly inflated and take advantage of the need for water. It [the price per litre] depends on the friend, for some it is R16, and for others it is R19.”
ALSO READ: Tshwane scraps historic water debt for Hammanskraal residents
In comparison, water costs R1.50 per litre at the water purification and refill store Oasis Water in a nearby mall.
The manager of the store, Sonette Van Niekerk, tells The Citizen these new upstarts do not pose a threat to the business.
“There’s probably space in the market for a lot of people on the further side of town, seeing that they cannot drink the water at all. However, we haven’t seen any relation or downward spiral with our shop.”
She revealed that the water crisis has slowly increased Oasis Water’s customer base and they were working with the community to provide affordable water.
In June, Tshwane government reported 173 cases of cholera and the death of 23 people from Hammanskraal due to the disease.
“It is possible that the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal is related to the pollution of water sources in the area from the City’s Rooiwal WWTW, situated upstream of Hammanskraal, which has not been well-maintained for many years, and which has insufficient capacity to deal with the volume of wastewater entering the works,” Department of Water and Sanitation Director-General, Dr Sean Phillips, said at the time.
ALSO READ: Possible cholera outbreak feared in Pretoria
Malinga says that the community fears for the future of their children amid the water issues, especially as some may sneak out to drink filthy water directly from taps.
“We can’t be watching that our kids don’t drink the dirty water.”
The Department of Water and Sanitation said plans were in place to ensure clean drinking water by the end of the year.
This after it failed to meet a September deadline set by former minister Senzo Mchunu.
The first phase of clean running water is set to run through tapes in October.
“We want to make sure that by October we can hand over the first phase. That will not be the solution to all the water challenges in Hammanskraal. We want the community to be patient with us,” said current Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina during a recent visit to the area.
WATCH: The minister’s remarks
NOW READ: Hammanskraal taps to run clean water in October, says department
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