LOUIS TRICHARDT - Fed-up Waterval residents, who last saw drops of water dripping from their taps ten years ago, decided to take to the streets and stage a protest march to highlight their plight at the Makhado Municipality Civic Center on Friday morning.

The Sanco secretary, Mr SG Maguga, said that 95% of the Waterval Township has been without water for a decade. He did, however, acknowledge that the water crisis in the area was caused by people who tampered with main water supply pipes leading to the area.

The residents of Waterval receive their supply from the Middle Letaba River, which is some distance away. The residents believe that the water crisis will only be solved when their water is directly under the control of Makhado Municipality.

"There is no reason why we must suffer when water is on our doorsteps and supplying an area 25 km away, " a spokesperson said.

Sanco believes that water from the Sterkrivier/Letaba Dam is "not meant for the people of Waterval, as it does not reach our reservoir due to illegal connections. Those who benefit from it pay nothing, while we are paying every month for nothing," he said.

Maguga further said that decisions were taken after several unsuccessful meetings between SANCO, the municipality and DWAF (Water Affairs) about water and other issues which have also not been taken care of. After realising that all the things that had been promised to them at the meetings were not going to materialise, they also staged protest marches, still to no avail. "This will be our fourth protest march and we are still not expecting miracles," Maguga commented.

He said that local residents were losing money every day by buying water. He explained that those without transport had to pay R50 for ten plastic containers of water.

This makes the price of water more expensive than at drought-stricken places like Nzhelele. Sanco also demanded that as an exercise to prevent crime streetlights and floodlights be fixed or reconnected and new streetlights be installed. The residents gave the municipality seven days to respond to their demands.