Residents of Qunu in desperate water crisis

20 November 2014 - 02:37 By Lulamile Feni
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UNFATHOMABLE: There is a real threat of an outbreak of waterborne disease in Nelson Mandela's home village as taps run dry and residents are forced to draw water from pools used by livestock
UNFATHOMABLE: There is a real threat of an outbreak of waterborne disease in Nelson Mandela's home village as taps run dry and residents are forced to draw water from pools used by livestock
Image: LULAMILE FENI

Nelson Mandela's home village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape has been hit by a water crisis, forcing residents to draw water from pools normally used by animals.

Concerns have been raised that this could lead to an outbreak of waterborne diseases.

Villagers said taps ran dry two weeks ago and they now collect water from a spring near the Mandela family graveyard in the village which serves more than 800 households. Villagers queue from 5am every day.

A small pool of water has formed near the spring and yesterday sweet wrappers, condoms, cow dung, papers and green algae were seen in the water.

"I am a mother of a 15-month-old-boy and I fear for his health," said Noluthando Mandela, who lives close to the former president's house.

Mandela said the family boiled the water before drinking it.

"This takes a lot of time to do," she said.

Other residents admitted they were not boiling the water.

Mzwandile Maqhwabane, who lives with his sick mother, said the situation was worrying.

"My mother needs to drink and be bathed with clean . water. Consuming such dirty water could make things worse," he said.

Residents Andile Nkunzi and Anelisiwe Manana said the village has slipped back to a time when water was drawn from streams and springs.

"This is of great concern, especially that we are Madiba's home village. We should not be suffering like this. This village is known worldwide," said Manana, as she collected a 25-litre drum of murky water.

Staff at a local clinic said there has been a spike in the number of patients and warned that drinking water must be purified.

Local leader Nkosikazi Nokwanele Balizulu said she would take the matter up with the OR Tambo District Municipality.

"We are a poor village and fear that if there is an outbreak [of disease] things will get a lot worse. We just hope the water supply will be restored soon," said Balizulu.

However, she partly blamed the community for the crisis because of illegal water connections.

"People connect their taps and it has caused problems. There are some pipes which are bursting because some residents make illegal connections," she said.

King Sabata Dalindyebo Ward 19 councillor Bulelwa Mazini said the Qunu water problems were ongoing but authorities were trying to sort them out.

The OR Tambo District Municipality is spending about R80-million on water-related infrastructure upgrades in the district. The municipality did not respond to questions at the time of going to press.

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