Villagers left high and dry
Clash between headman and pump operator blamed for three dry weeks
A Limpopo village has been without water for the past three weeks. This was after keys were confiscated from the pump operator at GaMaphalle village near Giyani following a dispute between him and the local headman.
RDP home owners at Sethabaneng, Plan Town and Nkwelemotse B were forced to buy water from households with boreholes at a cost of R2 per 20 litres.
Sowetan visited the village at the weekend and discovered that taps installed on the streets were dry. Residents were lining up with containers at a house with a borehole.
Makosha Makgobe, 20, confirmed the water problem: “No one is employed in my family but we have been forced to buy water. This puts a strain on us as we use the money from government grants which is not enough to support the family and take the children school.”
Empty drums were lined up in his yard.
Machipi said he did not know if he would get water to fill up the drums to prepare food for mourners. Community activist Steve Malatji said they were tired of the differences between the local headman and the man who pumps water for the community.
“The truth is that there has been an animosity between the local headman, Phetole Modika, and the local pump operator. This has come at a huge cost to poor residents. This must stop,” Malatji said.
Modika said there had been incidents of illegal connections of water by the pump operator, which resulted in other communities not receiving water. He said they had since resolved the problem and that residents would get water soon. The pump operator said he had done nothing illegal. to
He said Modika had advised him to help families who had bought materials to connect water from the pipeline. He said some villagers gave him some “thank you” money and claimed that was what sparked the conflict with the headman.