Water shortages in uMkhanyakude at critical stage

WHILE water shortages in uMkhanyakude District Municipality have been ongoing for years, the situation appears to have reached critical proportions.

‘Children at the local schools cannot flush the toilets because there is no water and have resorted to using the bushes behind the school building,’ said one Mbazwana resident who is concerned about the hygiene issues and illnesses associated with no water.

‘I have two dogs that died of distemper and the cattle are sneezing and sick.’

Concrete pipes for the construction of the pipeline from Jozini Dam to Mbazwana and other areas lie where they were dumped, with weeds growing in among them. ‘Water tankers sell water to the local residents, many of whom rely on the state pension or government grants and simply cannot afford to buy water,’ said the resident.

It has also been reported that the fire department in Mbazwana prioritises delivering water to weddings and funerals over extinguishing house fires, resulting in numerous houses being burned to the ground in recent years.

Residents elsewhere in the district are also suffering from the water shortages, which appear to boil down to a lack of maintenance of existing infrastructure and a lack of expanding infrastructure in accordance with a growing population.

Mtubatuba waterworks remains incapable of servicing its area, despite the recommissioning of boreholes along the Mfolozi River last year.

Distribution of the precious resource remains a concern.