Makhado Park residents' water supply was restored again on Sunday, 7 February, after their taps had run dry three weeks ago. However, they are calling on the Vhembe District Municipality to drill boreholes and install water tanks in their area as a long-term solution to their water woes.
Residents claim that they have not been receiving a constant supply of water for a long time, while their neighbours at Eltivillas don't seem to experience this problem at all. Before Saturday, they had been without water for three consecutive weeks and they say that water tankers, which are supposed to deliver water to them in such times, rarely deliver the water.
"What is frustrating us most is that we draw water from the same reservoir as Eltivillas residents, yet Elitivillas receive water constantly, unlike us. The tanker that is supposed to relief us in such times is not reliable. When water is delivered in the area only two streets may receive water, while the rest have to devise their own means," said Tshifhiwa Fambe, deputy chairperson of the Makhado Park civic organisation.
Limpopo Mirror visited Makhado Park on Sunday. A private contractor from Immorial Building Construction CC was trying to determine where the cause of the problem to Makhado Park's water supply might lie.
"The municipality is making us incur unbearable expenses. I had to run around and find money for drilling a borehole at my place last month. I paid R5 000 for drilling costs. Before I drilled my borehole I used to buy water from private people selling water around Makhado Park," one resident told Limpopo Mirror.
"The contractor is busy trying to detect the problem area that makes us not to receive water. Even if the problem is resolved, we are not going to pay water bills for three months, starting from February. This is a measure to assess whether we will receive water constantly," Fambe said and added that they will insist that the municipality forfeit their bills for three months, as residents have had to spend around R400 for private companies to supply and deliver water in their area.