Taps at Tshivhangani village have been without a drop of water for the last two years now since the local borehole broke down. The residents say they are beyond tired of waiting for the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) to come and fix the borehole, so they can have clean drinking water again.
As things stand, residents have to walk long distances in search of water in wells, fountains and streams, often sharing some of these water sources with goats, donkeys and cattle. They feel strongly that the government is deliberately turning a blind eye to their problems. "No one wants to get involved with our problems here," said one of the residents, Ms Promise Rasoesoe.
According to Rasoesoe, the stream they are forced to collect water from is greatly polluted and soiled by the animals who also drink from it. "I wake up early in the morning, but nothing ever comes out of the taps. Some can afford to buy water from people with boreholes. Those who cannot afford to pay for water resort to the water from the stream, which is covered with algae and susceptible to bilharzia. The food we eat is cooked with the water we fetch from the stream or fountain, and the water we drink comes from the same source. We boil this water before using it in fear of contracting cholera. We don't have a choice but to use this contaminated water, as there is no water in the village. We are suffering here. How little does the government think of us to let us share dirty water with animals? It is high time that people start taking us seriously, as we are part of this district. We are fed up with empty promises," she said.
Another resident, Mr Daniel Maleka, said that residents were upset, not only because they had been without water for two years, but also because they were forced to put their lives in danger by drinking the water from the streams and fountains. He explained that, in order to purify the water before drinking, they poured some cement or ash into their containers. This, he said, cleared some of the algae and made it appear more drinkable. "We also deserve this basic right to clean water from our taps," he said.
The VDM spokesperson, Matodzi Ralushai, said they needed sufficient funds to address all the water problems around the Vhembe area. "The alternative is drilling more boreholes or upgrading existing ones."
At the time of our going to press, he was still waiting for a response from the technical department to explain why the borehole at Tshivhangani village has not been fixed for two years.