Residents of the Lebowakgomo area in Limpopo have picketed during a visit by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu. They are concerned about the lack of water.
Mchunu was conducting oversight inspections on bulk water infrastructure projects that are currently being implemented in parts of Lebowakgomo. The project is aimed at augmenting water supply to communities affected by water shortages.
Minister Mchunu together with his deputies David Mahlobo and Judith Tshabalala were accompanied by provincial and local leadership.
Residents of Ga-Mphahlele and Lebowakgomo are concerned about the lack of water. This is despite the area being home to two major water treatment plants, Olifantspoort and Ebenezer.
Residents say the water treatment plants benefit mainly the Polokwane municipal areas while they remain thirsty. Residents have expressed their unhappiness.
Resident Elizabeth Malope says, “As we speak now, we don’t have water. We are using flushing toilets, so it’s very hard for us. Our taps remain dry.”
“We are always struggling to get water here. When we woke up this morning, there was no water at all, we can see the project is there, but we were not told anything about the project,” explains another resident Godfrey Maafa.
“It’s hard to live without water, sometimes we ask for water from those who have private boreholes. So, it’s extremely hard when you are living with children. On the other side we have flushing toilets, so the situation is bad here,” says Lerato Sehlapelo, a resident.
Authorities say augmenting the water treatment plants will benefit thousands of households in the Lepelle-Nkumpi and Polokwane municipalities.
Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu says, “We are no longer in the habit of dealing with such schemes. And we overlook everybody. We go over the mountains over the mountains just because we’re one second and very often it would be a city or a town. We love the people of the cities and towns as much as we love the people in rural areas. And we’re now closing and eliminating the gap that has been in existence but jumping them no more, it’s gone forever.”
Lepelle Northern Water says it has invested billions of rands into the project.
“We’ve invested about R4.5 billion on this project to ensure that there’s that reliability of water. And the focus now is not only on the city is to ensure that the communities around get reliable clean water, reliable water at all times which they were not getting for many years,” says Nndweleni Mphephu, Lepelle Northern Water Chairperson.
The project is expected to create over a thousand jobs during the construction phase and a further 90 jobs upon completion.
