THE crippling effect of the prolonged drought has ravaged the Mthonjaneni Municipal areas, and left most of Melmoth and the nearby Thubalethu areas dry and devastated.
uThungulu District Municipality leadership held a prayer for rain on the mountain above the Melmoth water works on Friday morning.
The 5am call to prayer was led by uThungulu Speaker Cllr A Mthembu, Mthonjaneni Mayor MN Biyela, uThungulu Chief Whip Cllr KER Hadebe, and members of faith-based organisations in the district.
The leadership, joined by uThungulu Deputy Mayor Nonhle Mkhulisi and other councillors, then visited four schools in the area to hand over water buckets and speak to pupils about water conservation.
The schools visited were Nthuthuko Primary, Melmoth Primary, Thubalethu Primary and Mthonjaneni High.
After the school visits, two community meetings were held to address Melmoth and Thubalethu communities on the water shortages crippling the area, and the interventions adopted by the district to ensure the community has access to water.
These include the drilling of new boreholes near the Melmoth water works and water deliveries to supplement the supply.
The community was also taught how they could participate in the water saving initiatives, and encouraged to make suggestions on how to curb water wastage.
The meetings served as valuable tools in community participation and were much appreciated by the community.
