Residents rely on stream water as municipalities fail to make use of water infrastructure grants

For several years, residents from a rural village in the Vhembe district municipality have been drinking contaminated water from streams and lakes. 

This is one of the submissions made by a traditional leader from Mhinga village, Cedrick Mhinga, at the SA Human Rights Commission's (SAHRC) inquiry into access to water and the efficacy of water service authorities in Limpopo.  

The commission this week released the report on its inquiry held in October 2021. Mhinga had told the inquiry villagers had to draw water from streams and lakes which their animals also drank from.  

"In his submission, Mhinga indicated that the Vhembe district municipality built a small reticulation plant to resolve water shortages in his village. The reticulation plant is small and is unable to meet the water needs in the village. He raised concerns about the municipality with regards to wasteful expenditure relating to incomplete projects regarding water access," read the report. 

Tshifhiwa Tshikonelo, from a village in the same municipality, had told the commission the plight of accessing sufficient water began in 2016.

This was despite the community living less than 3km from Nandoni Dam and a water treatment plant completed in 2015.

"He indicated that there is a pipeline that provides water to a reservoir in Thohoyandou and that if the reservoir is not full the village is unable to receive any water supply." 

A traditional leader from a village in Mogalakwena municipality told the commission his village had been struggling with access to sufficient water since 2016. Caswell Mushi said as a result, the community had resorted to buying water from local shops.

Mushi said the village had a communal borehole that was not functioning and in 2018, the community contributed money to buy equipment to fix the borehole. "However, the Mogalakwena local municipality did not permit the community to fix the borehole." 

In the Sekhukhune district municipality, Moses Tladi from Marishane village submitted that the water problems in his community were historical.  

"Community members had to travel about 9km to fetch water from streams and wells. He mentioned that they collect water from the same sources used by animals (donkeys and dogs). 

"He indicated that there are boreholes in the village constructed by the municipality, however they are not operational due to the lack of connecting pipes from the Good Hope Dam to the villages. He attempted to engage with the Sekhukhune municipality about water challenges in his community, but those attempts had not borne the desired positive results," read the report.

The commission conducted the inquiry after receiving numerous complaints related to the right to access water from municipalities.

The objectives of the inquiry were to establish the root causes of water shortages and determine whether municipalities, particularly the water services authorities (WSAs) within the province have violated residents’ right to access sufficient basic water supply, as provided for in relevant national legislation such as the Water Services Act and the constitution and make recommendations. 

With five districts and 20 local municipalities, 10 of those municipalities are WSAs with a responsibility to provide water to communities within their jurisdictions. At the time of the inquiry, all major dams in Limpopo were more than 90% full and many communities were not receiving clean drinking water.  

The commission said this clearly demonstrated the failures of municipalities to provide water could not be attributed to the shortage of water in the province. 

Some municipalities revealed they had returned allocations from the water services infrastructure and municipal infrastructure grants while some had stalled the project. 

The commission found that Vhembe had many projects that should have been completed years ago, such as reservoirs and water treatment plants.

"The Vhembe district municipality failed to submit a clear plan on when these projects will be completed. The municipality further acknowledged that it has not been continuously providing water to areas in Musina, Malamulele, Makhado, Ka-Josefa, and Ka-Mhinga to name just a few," read the report. 

The commission acknowledged that the main source of water in the province is surface water but found that during the inquiry, none of the municipalities attributed the shortage of water to the source or unavailability of water resources in Limpopo.

"The contributing factors across all the municipalities are mismanagement of water resources and lack of funding. The commission also found that there is a lack of sufficient skills in some of the municipalities."

It said it would closely monitor the implementation of its recommendations by the municipalities in the province and take appropriate steps where necessary.

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