Elim – Waiting and hoping.
That is what residents of Elim and surrounding villages, in Limpopo, have spent the last two decades doing – waiting in vain for the promised provision of running water.
Among Elim villages facing running water woes include, Mpheni, Waterval, Shirly, Magangeni, and Makhakhe.
Residents from these villages have had to rely on buying water from those with private boreholes within their homes.
Boreholes drilled by the Vhembe district municipality, meant to supply these villages with water have either dried up or become unusable owing to lack of maintenance.
Promises to repair the boreholes made to residents remain just that.
Sylvester Mulaudzi is a resident of Waterval, an old township, near Elim Hospital.
He says that for the past 11 years, his family had been forced to buy water using 20-litre containers from their neighbours who have private boreholes.
“I was born and raised here, [Waterval], but I can confidently tell you that I have never seen any water coming out of the municipal tap, which is erected within our home, I guess it is just here for decoration,” lamented Mulaudzi.
“I personally have raised the issue of lack of water several times with relevant authorities, but nothing is ever done.”
Mulaudzi said many times promises were made that their water woes would be addressed by the Vhembe district municipality.
However, he said nothing was ever done, while residents continue to suffer without potable water.
“Everyone knows that water is life and without running water at our disposal our lives and health are compromised,” Mulaudzi said.
“The people who are supposed to address the situation choose not to do anything, while they know very well that we do not have water in our communities.”
Dr. Ferrial Adam, executive manager at WaterCan, said clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene were key to health.
“Water is important in terms of basic hygiene such as hand washing as we also know that clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene are key to health,” explained Adam.
The shortages of water in the Elim community have also extended to Elim Hospital.
The hospital has been facing on-and-off water shortages for the past seven years.
The main pipeline supplying the facility with water has been tampered with, while boreholes drilled within the facility have dried up.
On Friday, residents from all Elim villages gathered at Waterval Community Hall, where they voiced their concerns about water shortages and the need for urgent solutions.
John Munyai, a resident of Mpheni, was among the residents who attended the gathering at Waterval on Friday.
“It is about time we stand up as communities and unite to fight against these water woes which we are being subjected to daily,” said Munyai.
“We have suffered enough, and no one seems to care about what we are going through.
“On Friday we again raised our challenges with government… municipal officials and hope that they listened to us this time around, and they will address the challenges which we are facing.”
Munyai said that what they were facing was a “battle of the strongest pockets”.
He added: “If you do not have money, you will not be able to get water.
“Just imagine living without water, you will not be able to cook, wash nor even bathe.
“To be honest it is inhumane, especially living in a democratic country. Something needs to be done urgently to address this situation.”
Vhembe District Municipality is the sole water provider.
However, Vhembe Municipality spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai failed to respond to questions sent to him, despite acknowledging receipt.
In October last year, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) gave 10 Limpopo municipalities three months to show detailed plans of how they were going to address water shortages in the province.
Efforts to get updates from the SAHRC were unsuccessful.
It remained unclear what the rights body would do now that the three-month deadline has come and gone.
