We were ignored, Mpumalanga villagers complain

Work on the City of Cape Town’s water supply infrastructure could affect parts of Kraaifontein on Tuesday, 24 March 2020. File Picture.

Work on the City of Cape Town’s water supply infrastructure could affect parts of Kraaifontein on Tuesday, 24 March 2020. File Picture.

Published Apr 27, 2020

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In the Iraq informal settlement in Mpumalanga, women walk about 2km every day to collect water. And since the start of the national lockdown, they have been turned away by police.

“Now some of the women wait until it gets dark for them to collect water so that they won’t be seen by police,” said the South African Water Caucus, a network of more than 20 community-based organisations and NGOs.

In Steenbokpan in Lephalale, water tanks have been dry for five years and at the remaining water point, far from the settlement, women wait for an entire day to fill a 20-litre bucket.

“In Shongoane, to obtain access to water, community members (mainly women) walk kilometres or stand in

long queues for a day when there is water available. Households can buy water for R500 (2500 litres) or R4 (20litres). This is unaffordable for

most households.”

These are among several communities across the country without access to basic water and sanitation who face an increased risk of contracting Covid-19, the network said.

Its “non-exhaustive” list of affected communities is contained in a letter sent this week to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, and the newly appointed head of the National Disaster Water Command Centre, requesting urgent intervention for these communities.

These residents continue to experience a daily violation of their guaranteed rights enshrined in sections 24 and 27 of the Constitution.

The communities living in these areas are in desperate need of urgent government intervention for the protection and fulfilment of their basic constitutional rights, not only to address the current Covid-19 crisis, but also to provide sustainable access to water beyond the crisis, it said.

Handwashing with soap and water has been consistently highlighted as a key preventative measure against

the Covid-19 pandemic, and those without access to clean water and reliable supply, face increased risks of contracting the coronavirus.

“SAWC requests that government, led by you (Minister Sisulu) and your department and the National Disaster Water Command Centre, prioritise the provision of water tanks and/or tankers and sanitation packs to the communities with the greatest of urgency.”

On Tuesday, 10 leaders of the community organisation, Coastal Links, and members of the social movement, Inyanda, were arrested on charges of convening an illegal gathering in terms of the Covid-19 Regulations.

The leaders, eight men and two women, represent fisher and residents, who live in the coastal strip near Wavecrest Hotel and represent the villages of Nobanjane, Ngcizele and Nxaxo, covering about 600 households, the SAWC said.

“We have been without water since 2017 and the coronavirus now makes it even more difficult as our lives and health are at risk,” said Harvey Ntshoko, of Coastal Links and the Inyanda Land Movement, in a statement.

“As community leaders, we had seen that other villages in the area had been provided with water and food parcels, yet our villages were ignored."

He explained that many leaders do not have cellphones. “We didn’t know where we would go to get water, yet, the leaders were arrested. We're very upset."

“It is indeed a sad day in our democracy when community leaders, without access to water, are arrested and charged by the SAPS without regard for the circumstances under which they had to meet or the risks which they face without access to water,” said the SAWC, in the letter.

It said since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the national lockdown, “we have witnessed a positive shift in service delivery, with a number of our communities being provided with water

“We are therefore grateful to you Minister Sisulu and your team, for facilitating such access.

"However, a number of communities remain without access to water and require urgent assistance from government to address their water

and sanitation needs, among other

basic services.”

The letter stated that there was

a need to acknowledge the lifelong effects that environmental factors

have on children, and that there

arises a heightened duty on the government to protect children in these distressed communities, since the consequences of the pandemic exacerbates their vulnerability.

“SAWC emphasises the importance of social distancing during the distribution of water from tanks or tankers to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus."

Saturday Star

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