Makwassie, Lebaleng - Residents of Lebaleng in Makwassie have been struggling with a long-standing issue of water shortage, relying on manholes for daily needs
The Maquassi Hills Municipality has blamed the pipe burst for persistent water challenges in the area
The municipality said, the issue has been reported to the water supplier, Magalies Water
Residents say, the water problem doesn't start now, it has been an issue for several years
"The water problem doesn't start now, it has been an ongoing issue for quite a number of years" - Lebaleng resident
Taps are continuing to run dry for long periods. Residents said, to survive, they rely on use of dirty water from the manholes in their area
"We are used to drawing water from manholes, we don't have adequate water supply from our yards, we do have water connections, but some of us don't have taps. We draw water from manholes for laundry, for boiling in order to drink or have medication with the water we boil" - Lebaleng resident
Other residents are concern about their health as the water is not safe for consumption
"Since 2021, we have been struggling with water. Even now, water trucks come in our area whenever they feel like, they don't bring water on regular basis. Many of us queue for water while others don't receive a drop due to a large number of people who queue for water, drivers of these trucks would promise to come back for those who haven't received a drop but they don't stick to their promise" - Lebaleng resident
The community believes that, water trucks don't deliver water to them because there are certain people they pour water for because they receive bribes while they don't get water because of that
"We don't receive water because there are certain people who get water because they give bribes to truck drivers, because of that we don't get water" - Lebaleng resident
The community said, they also use rain water to fill in their buckets to use for daily water needs while they also said, the water that comes from water trucks are brownish and dirty
Through a written response, the municipality said, the pipe burst few weeks ago affected the water supply in various areas of Maquassi Hills
The matter was reported to Magalies Water which is the water supplier for the municipality
"Magalies Water can confirm that, following a pipe burst few weeks ago, supply of water to Makwassie was suspended to allow technical team to undertake repairs to the damaged section of the pipeline. The pipeline was successfully repaired after which operations of supply of water to communities had resumed. Worth noting, the system that has been used to supply water to Maquassi Hills Local Municipality remains constrained as the current supply does not adequately address the demand
Lebaleng residents are calling on the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality to address water supply issues and ensure water is running through taps
In October last year, frustrated Lebaleng residents held officials from the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality hostage including the Executive Mayor, Nikiwe Num during the Accelerated Service Delivery Programme, demanding accountability on the water situation in the area
The district municipality promised the residents that, their day-to-day water challenges would be fixed after the matter was taken to other stakeholders for review
The district municipality ensured residents that bottlenecks in service delivery will swiftly be addressed
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Updated: 28 April 2025 Monday
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