Some residents of more than ten villages in Taung in the North West continue to experience prolonged water shortages.
These areas include Cokonyane, Lokaleng, and Ditshilong in wards 10, 11, and 13.
Residents of these areas marched to the Greater Taung Local Municipality, complaining about lack of water.
They have previously embarked on the same action, but the authorities are yet to address their problem.
Angry residents demand answers from the local authorities, as they continue to grapple with water shortages in their areas.
Some say their taps have been dry for more than a decade and they have survived through buying water.
“We buy 2,500 litres of water, about R350 and we share water with the animals that we have in our local areas,” says one of the residents.
“It has really been a rough ride, it has inculcated to people resorting to rivers where even animals are drinking,” says another resident.
The authorities have blamed this on contaminated boreholes, as Pitso Seepamere of the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality elaborates, “The existing boreholes, water is contaminated. So, we can’t risk to energise boreholes that are actually contaminated. Imagine having 200 coliforms, the yield is very good, but when you have over 200 coliforms in the system, you can’t energise, you can’t risk the lives of our people. We are a very responsive municipality.”
However, according to a community leader, Keaobaka Segonyane, the district municipality has repeatedly failed to complete the refurbishment of a water plant, that was supposed to resolve their problem.
“The contractor was appointed, which will be working at the plant and the district then promised us that within six months from 2024 residents of Cokonyane and neighbouring areas will be able to get water but now the plant is complete yet we are still struggling to get water.”
The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, which is the water service authority, has committed that residents will get water by the end of this month after the completion of water augmentation project. Reporting by Lebogang Pebe.
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