Basic service delivery remains pipe dream for Ward 36 villages

Basic services, such as accessible roads and clean running water, remain a challenge for residents in Ward 36 at Manyii, Matsa, and Mamvuka in Nzhelele, under the Makhado Local Municipality. They say that they are tired of fetching water for basic household use from nearby springs that animals also drink from.

Ms Rofhiwa Mudau, a resident of Mamvuka village, mentioned that she could not even recall the last time she had had running water from her taps at home. She said that the water in the springs was often dirty and contaminated. "When you go to the springs to fetch water, you find cows or donkeys also drinking from the same water. I don’t know if we have done anything wrong to this government that they decided to punish us like this. I always try to clean the water before using it with bleach, or I boil it. Sometimes I don’t have money for bleach, or there is no electricity to boil it,” she said.

Some residents pay extra for donkey carts to fill up their water drums. “One water drum costs around R50. We spend a lot on water every month,” one of them added.

The residents reported engaging with the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), the local water authority, several times to address their water challenges, but these meetings have not yielded positive results. They claimed that in 2019, they attempted to collect money from each household to drill a new borehole, in addition to the two dysfunctional boreholes the municipality drilled years ago, but the municipality stopped them.

According to VDM spokesperson Mr Matodzi Ralushai, the municipality drilled boreholes years ago to address the water challenges in the area. “It seems the boreholes were never completed, as they were not connected to electricity. Since it has been long overdue since the boreholes were drilled, we will test them and connect and equip them properly,” he said.

Mr Richard Mukhaninga Ramabulana from the Vhembe Concerned Group stated that the water challenges in the village were heartbreaking. “It is almost 30 years now since our so-called democracy, and people are still sharing water sources with animals. Who knows where these animals have been and what germs they are carrying? Some residents use the water without boiling it, which is not healthy. We hope that the municipality can urgently provide water tankers while they come up with a permanent solution to fix the two dysfunctional boreholes,” he said.

Date:16 December 2023

By: Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology.

He is passionate about current news and international affairs.

He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017.

He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

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