A serious water shortage has hit Zezani High School outside Beit Bridge, following a power crisis in the area.

The electricity supply was disrupted after the main transformer was struck by strong winds that swept across the entire area last month. The latest development has also affected the water supply at a local police station and the local clinic as they largely rely on electricity-powered boreholes to pump water for daily use.

When Limpopo Mirror recently visited the area, several pupils could be seen scrambling for water at a communal borehole, while others were forced to fetch water from unpurified water sources such as the nearby Umzingwane River.

Zezani High School's principal, Mr Ophiwani Ncube, said the lack of power at the area also compromised discipline at the boarding school. “The prevailing power crisis is really compromising discipline at our school, largely because some naughty pupils are now taking advantage of the darkness to sneak out of the school yard to commit miscellaneous offences.  We also now have a problem of punctuality as pupils have to take turns to fetch water at a communal borehole, so that they can bath before attending lessons,” he said.

Ncube also expressed concern over fears that learners were likely to contract water-borne diseases, such as cholera and bilharzia, as most of them were going to the nearby Umzingwane River to bathe. “We are appealing to the relevant authorities to address this power problem as it also continues to increase the cost of running the school since we are forced to use the diesel-powered generator. In fact, we mobilized the local community and raised the money required by the power utility to ferry new electricity poles from Beit Bridge.  Sadly, however, they are taking long to address the problem, and it's almost a month now, despite the poles' having been delivered to the site,” he said.

Several poles were felled by the hailstorm and some huts in the village were also destroyed by the natural phenomenon. Local villagers told Limpopo Mirror that they were now forced to travel long distances to grinding mills in neighbouring villages such as Mpande and Tshamnangana, due to the lack of power.

Villagers also expressed concern over an acute shortage of transport in the area, saying most of the public transport operators were shunning the route, due to poor roads.  Some of the bridges along the Beit Bridge-Zezani road which were destroyed by floods have not been repaired, making the area inaccessible.