KwaMsane residents left high and dry
Residents are reportedly forced to buy water from people who have boreholes or from water tank supplies, for as much as R500.
FOR three years the KwaMsane community near Mtubatuba has been facing water supply problems.
The situation has become so dire, residents are reportedly forced to buy water from people who have boreholes or from water tank supplies, for as much as R500.
An irate community member told the Zululand Observer: ‘Sometimes we go for months without water, and the municipality does not even send water tankers to supply us, forcing us to buy it from Hluhluwe and KwaMbonambi,’ said the complainant.
He further said people are forced to wake up at dawn, rush to the local borehole and stand in long queues to fetch water.
Water reticulation problems
The community blames Mtubatuba Municipality for neglecting their needs, saying they only supply Mtubatuba town and St Lucia – where, they claim, the taps never run dry.
uMkhanyakude District Municipality: Water Provision Supervisor Joseph Gumede said the problem is caused by water reticulation issues into the reservoirs in kwaBhoboza, outside KwaMsane.
‘Water is pumped into KwaMsane, St Lucia and Mtubatuba three times a week, and KwaMsane reservoirs face a problem with water reticulation because they are located on high lying points, whereas Mtubatuba and St Lucia are on low lying areas,’ Gumede explained.
The community claims that at the end of September both the Mayor of Mtubatuba IF Nyawo and uMkhanyakude District Mayor SJ Vilane called an impromptu meeting, where they claimed not to be aware of the water problems.
‘The meeting was convened at 9am the same day, but because many people didn’t know about it, attendance was poor.
‘Both mayors promised us they will try and solve the problem of water, but since then they never gave us feedback,’ a community member complained.
Both mayors were unavailable for comment at the time of going to print.
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