No clean water for 10yrs, residents blame EWADE
SIPHOFANENI – Residents of Maphilingo, under Siphofaneni Inkhundla, have been struggling to have a proper supply of clean water for over 10 years.
This, after EWADE allegedly took over a system that has been supplying the community for close to 20 years.
Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) is allegedly the centre of the water scarcity that has taken the rural community three decades back.
According to the residents, for close to 20 years, before EWADE took over their water system, which was under the Rural Water Project, they had access to water. In 1993, Maphilingo community, which has around 300 homesteads, through the help of the Rural Water Project, had a borehole and water system that pumped water from the ground and supplied the homesteads.
Bill
Each homestead at the time contributed E10 to the electricity bill and for the payment of the person who was hired to control the water pump and security guard. The water from the community project also benefited Othandweni Primary School. The borehole produced hard water, which limited the residents from conducting other agricultural projects.
In 2006, during the construction of the Lubovane Dam, the residents were promised that they would benefit from the LUSIP I project. For Maphilingo residents, the benefit was to get clean and soft water, which would enable them to have gardens. In 2011, the dream became a reality. The water was taken from the main canal at the Great Usuthu River and supplied to the Lubovane Dam, to their water tanks.
System
In essence, the very same water system that was used to supply hard water to the community was also used by the LUSIP I project, which is under EWADE to supply soft water. The introduction of the soft water and EWADE taking over the project looked good at face value, but 10 years later, it had proven to be a curse, because it created division between the haves and the haves not in the community, exposing people to health risks, dangerous animals and hunger.
According to the residents, after EWADE took over, and phased out the hard water, they started having more problems. However, these problems were not new, but they were able to craft a way of dealing with them among themselves at the time. Most of the problems were outstanding electricity bills that they eventually paid. The reason the residents were without water was because some people did not want to pay the E20 monthly fee.
It was gathered that to minimise cases where electricity was cut off and to expose those who didn’t want to pay the monthly fee, some community members, in a meeting, where EWADE representatives opted that each homestead should have a tap and install a water meter then invite Eswatini Water Service Corporation (EWSC) to take over the project.
Last year, the residents mentioned that they were told to start installing water meters, so that water could be reconnected into their homes. They did this but to this day, no water has been connected to their homes.
A committee member, who did not want to be named due to fear of victimisation, stated that this transition stopped everything because their taps have been dry for over a year and when they engaged EWADE on the way forward, they did not get clear answers.
“We are caught between a rock and a hard place because we don’t know when the metered water will be connected,” said the resident.
A visit to the community unveiled that some of the residents bought the meters and installed them but for a year now, the water has not been connected.
The residents said at the time they installed the water meters, they were told that they would be connected soon. They said they fell for the ‘trap’ because, in less than three months, there was a trial run of the metered water. Thereafter, they never saw even a single drop of water.
The aggrieved residents said when they engaged EWADE, they were told that they were disconnecting those who had not installed meters from the systems, so the water could benefit those who installed them.
Aggrieved
“We don’t know when EWADE will finish because it has been almost a year now, we have been taken back to the way we were living before 1993. We walk close to three kilometres to fetch water at Lubovane Dam or the canal,” said another aggrieved resident.
The resident said their gripe with EWADE was that the meters must be installed yet there is no supply of water. The residents said there were mixed emotions between those who could afford to pay for the meters and those who could not. Residents were also expected to pay E50 monthly fee for water that they did not have.
She also stated that the water tanks were dirty and needed to be cleaned and some of them were leaking.
“We are paying E50 for EWADE to supply us with water while busy with the meter installation, but we do not have water,” said the resident.
Maphiliongo Community Councillor (Bucopho) Siphiwo Shongwe lamented the shortage of water in the community. She mentioned that since 2011, the community has not had proper water supply.
Shongwe said she feared that Lubovane Dam was infested with crocodiles, therefore, the residents’ lives were at risk since the dam was the only source of water. Some community members, who do not have cars and cannot afford to hire one to fetch the water for them, walk a distance of over 1.5 kilometres to the dam while others walk over two kilometres to the canal. Shongwe mentioned that these sources of water were also used by goats and cattle.
Stomach-aches
“People are constantly running to hospital due to stomach aches, which I think are caused by drinking the contaminated water,” she said.
When EWADE was asked to clarify on the issue, these reporters were channelled from one officer to the other.
The first call was made to the Communications Manager Nokwazi Hlophe on Wednesday, but she did not respond. On Thursday, she was called again and she said she was in South Africa, but shared an email that could be used to send the questions.
“I am currently in South Africa, I cannot answer now I will give Tina’s contact, she is under LUSIP, she will be able to answer you,” she said.
On Friday, EWADE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Samson Sithole was also contacted.
“I cannot comment on the matter for now, what you can do is send questions through the communications office,” he said.
Sanitation
The United Nations 2023 Sustainable Development Goal No:6 (SGD6) says people should have access to clean water and sanitation. The SDG explains that access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being.
The Ministry of Natural Resources 2022/2023 Annual Performance Report stated that 70 per cent of the Eswatini population had access to clean drinking water. During the ministry’s performance report and budget debate in Parliament last year, MPs questioned which 70 per cent the ministry was referring to because people were still sharing water with animals and walked long distances to access these water sources.