Families thirst after water on the banks of Jozini Dam
LETHI Mzileni puts out dozens of plastic containers in her yard as the grey clouds overhead bring the promise of rain — hoping, desperately, that she can collect water.
But as Thursday afternoon turns to evening, the dusty yard of her Jozini homestead remains dry. Her hopes are, again, dashed.
“It’s only the rain that helps us. If I see it might rain, I take everything I can that holds water and leave it outside,” the 73-year-old said this week.
Mzileni has lived in the northern KwaZulu-Natal town for more than two decades, and has never had running water in her modest home.
What adds to her frustration is that right on the doorstep of her village is Jozini Dam, one of the biggest in the province.
“It’s painful to wake up every morning and look at this water but not have any at home,” said Mzileni.
Her children and grandchildren take turns to do the daily walk to the dam to collect the 75 litres of water needed for cooking, cleaning and bathing. Sometimes, despite her age, Mzileni has to make the trip herself when the children are at school.
A hotel manager, who asked not to be named, said there were regular water shortages in Jozini. Many were because municipal water pipes were broken for illegal connections, she said.
“A few weeks ago, the road was completely wet because the pipe burst because lots of people broke it to get the water. But I wouldn’t call it stealing. It’s more people acting out of desperation,” the manager said.
Rural farmers in Efuyeni, about an hour inland from Empangeni in northern KZN, are worried about the hardships winter will bring. In the past six months, many have lost their livestock to thirst and hunger as local dams have run dry.
“I have lost 17 cows, and my biggest fear is that even those that are left might die because of the drought. We are struggling for water,” said Mthembiseni Thusi.
Thusi described how many calves died at birth because they were too weak, or because the cows’ milk had dried up.
“Cows are our banks. We use them to pay lobola. When we have financial troubles, we still have our cows. And our cows are our lives — when they suffer like this, we suffer too,” said Thusi.