Residents of kaMasoyi, outside White River in Mpumalanga, have staged a protest to demand water supply.
The residents used stones, logs, burning tyres and other objects to barricade the R538 road and others, connecting different villages in the area. Schooling was disrupted and some people didn’t get to work. The protesters also torched a truck valued at R1.7 million.
The residents say they’ve not been getting clean drinking water for months now.
Water supply in many rural villages in Mbombela has been a big challenge. The municipality has recently used water tankers and boreholes to address the problem. However, residents say they are not getting water.
“I woke up early in the morning, I found the community closed the road because there is no water since last of last year. But the problem is not solved. So far, we don’t know what caused the strike. We are still waiting. (We) don’t know. We are going to ask more questions from the people who started the strike. I think it’s certain parts of the area that do not have the water; some they do have water, according to what I know,” says one resident.
The protest action disrupted many businesses, including tuck shops of foreign nationals.
One of the business people in the area, Sajo Mohamed, says he was forced to close shop.
“We are just pushing life you know. Because people need bread, I must try my best to bring the bread to the customers, you know, but the road there … it’s too tough, eish. We don’t what they were looking for. Even us, when we come in the morning we found they broke everything, but us, we, never get any effect (sic),” says Mohamed.
The City of Mbombela says water supply is a challenge to many rural villages, not only in kaMasoyi.
City Spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, says, “We are aware of water challenges, in fact, not necessarily at Masoyi but through the City of Mbombela, and we have been providing water through water tankers where possible and in other areas, we have also been drilling boreholes because the supply is less than the demand.
Our community has grown, but we are appealling to our communities as (and) when they encounter shortage, they must use the structures that are on the ground. You got the ward committees; you have ward councillors; and in other areas, you even have water committees.”
Police Spokesperson, Leonard Hlathi says they are investigating a case of malicious damage to property, theft and public violence following the protest.
“It was during the early hours of this morning when the community went on a rampage, barricading some roads in Masoyi. And they also stopped a truck – Sun Bake truck – which was loaded with bread and that bread was looted. That the truck was set alight, which of course now, we are investigating a case of public violence, as well as malicious damage to property and theft. We have not yet arrested any person so far,” says Hlathi.
The municipality has urged residents to contact their ward councillors to raise their concerns on service delivery issues before they resort to violent protests.
