During the Vhembe District's mayoral imbizo, held at the Muswane Sports Grounds on Friday, 10 March, the communities around Muswane, Dumela and Mulamula villages, outside Malamulele, told Executive Mayor Dowelani Nenguda that they were placing their faith in him to help resolve the shortage of water in their area.
Mr Bennett Mabasa, who represented the communities, said water shortages in their area had become a big worry for them. "The taps are dry here in our villages, and we are forced to drink dirty water from our rivers, which we share with wild animals. The borehole that was drilled at Muswane about two years ago has not provided us with a single drop of water," Mabasa said.
An imbizo is one of the platforms municipalities use countrywide to engage with communities on service delivery and how it can be improved. Mabasa also said that Muswane and the surrounding areas needed better sports facilities to help keep the young people busy.
The VDM's manager of technical services, Mr Wiseman Maluleke, acknowledged that water challenges in the VDM were a serious concern for communities and said they were working around the clock to fast-track services.
According to Maluleke, the transformer at Muswane was stolen by thugs. He said they were engaging with Eskom, so that it could be restored and the communities could have access to clean running water again.
Regarding the pipelines from the Nandoni Dam, Maluleke said the VDM was worried about illegal connections and urged the people behind these to stop their criminality.
Nenguda said that while they would be drilling new boreholes in the affected areas, he would dispatch water tankers as a temporarily means for people to get clean water.