Duthuni village is a rural mountainous settlement falling under the Thulamela Municipality. The village boasts one of the province's biggest water purification schemes, which supplies water to most parts of the Vhembe district.

Despite their close proximity to these sources of water, the village taps are always dry and residents have to rely on dirty and unhealthy water from a well in the nearby bushes, and water from a small river that runs through the village. During weekends, the small river is swarming with residents who are doing washing, which they pile up for a long time because of the shortage of water. The well and the small river have become their only hope of survival.

‘We are suffering because there is no water here, yet we are very near to the dam and where water is purified. The water is being used at far-away places, while we do not have a drop here," said Petunia Mudau, a long-time resident of Duthuni Block 2. Mudau added that they had always had hopes that the votes they cast many years ago would one day ensure that they had basic services like water, but were disappointed that this was not happening. "It is almost 20 years after the dawn of democracy, but we have not tasted any fruits of our hard-earned democracy, and we are still drinking unclean water with wild animals. We might very well get sick from waterborne diseases if our municipality does not do something to ease our situation," she said.

Mudau said that they had complained to the local ward councillor, who had promised that water tankers would bring them water, but the water only comes once in a while. "Please do something for us before we lose patience, as we have been waiting for far too long. We might resort to protests, which is not  a good thing to do, but maybe this is the only language that is understood by the government," she said.

Vhembe District Municipality spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai said  that it was news to him but indicated that they had dispatched a team to go and assess the situation. "We have a duty as a municipality to see to it that all residents have access to clean drinking water. We are awaiting a report from our officials, after which we will make sure that they receive water."