Still Waiting For Water

QwaQwa residents say they continue to have limited access to running water in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, but the municipality maintains headway has been made

- Siya Tsewu

For years they have been fighting for one of the planet’s most precious resources. Every time the taps ran dry they were told it’s because of the crippling drought which has plagued the region.

Yet for the residents of Phuthaditjhaba (QwaQwa) in the Free State it was clear that it wasn’t just the drought – chronic mismanagement also led to the Maluti-a-Phofung municipality reaching Day Zero last year.

It was hard to imagine things could get worse. But then Covid-19 came to South Africa and President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a countrywide lockdown, calling for everyone to wash their hands.

And for a brief time it was good news for the residents in this town because the taps were finally opened as a result of the president’s call. But it didn’t last long – and the community is fed up.

At the end of March the municipality hosted a ribbon-cutting party to open taps in the area and even Free State premier Sisi Ntombela attended, says resident Motlogelwa Moema, who is unimpressed by these actions. “Why did they need to have a party to open taps?

“If they could open taps to fight the virus, why were they not opened before?

“This municipality doesn’t take people seriously because even the taps that were open that day – it wasn’t for everyone – it only lasted for a few days.

“We still don’t have running water. There are JoJo tanks that were supplied but most people are still forced to queue every day for a truck that stops in designated areas to provide residents with water.