Pretoria - The 53 000 litres of water distributed by civil rights group #NotInMyName to Hammanskraal will go a long way in alleviating the plight of residents beset by shortage of clean and drinkable water.
This was according to the group’s secretary Themba Masango, who spearheaded the handover to community leaders yesterday.
At least five trucks were used to transport tons of bottled water to Temba Police Station, a drop-off point, from where it would be distributed
to beneficiaries.
Masango said lots of water remained in the inner-city, and hoped to make another delivery next week.
Those who would benefit included the sick, the elderly and NPOs.
“We have got the leadership of the police, who are going to distribute water to the local pastors and leaders, who will make sure they distribute to the community,” he said.
He said his organisation played its part by responding to calls for help from the township residents.
“Hammanskraal has had a serious water crisis forever. For the past
three weeks we have made a call to all South Africans to assist and they have done that.
“We really would like to appreciate them for coming on board while the politicians are still fixing themselves.
“This is a temporary solution to the problem,” Masango said.
Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum district co-ordinator for greater Pretoria, said his organisation expressed willingness to help when it was called by Masango.
“We are also a community organisation. We are there for the rights
of the communities,” he said.
He said AfriForum became involved after a lighting recently struck a
power station used at Rooiwal
Waste Water Treatment Plant to
purify water.
“As a result of the situation, the community lived without water for a long time. We then sent a letter from our lawyers to Tshwane metro, telling them that residents have been without water for more than 24 hours and that it was an infringement on their human rights,” he said.
On Monday, AfriForum conducted another test on the Hammanskraal water to check if its poor quality has improved.
Grobbelaar said tests
conducted in August concluded that the water was unsafe for human
consumption. Results for the recent test will be released on Monday.