As the Makhado municipality and the Vhembe district Municipality have been struggling to make progress in the provision of free basic water at Ha-Magau and other areas within the district, members of the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry visited several water-scarce areas in the district and listened to the lack of quality of life of residents.

One such area visited by the portfolio committee of the Makhado Municipality was Magau Village. Public water taps at Ha-Magau have been dry for some time. Residents rely on borehole water and they walk a long way to fetch water at one of the public boreholes in the village.

Residents, who had been waiting for the portfolio committee from 13:00 until 17:00 at Sinugani Secondary School, expressed their grave concern about the ongoing shortage of water to the national chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs, Ms Connie September. “You know that water is life, but we are spending three to four weeks without getting water in our taps. Some of us with money are buying water from households with boreholes. We are paying R150 per 20 litre container and you can imagine the situation of the orphaned children and the poverty stricken families who cannot raise that amount,” said a middle-aged woman.

The woman further alleged that every time they approached the Makhado Municipality as residents, they were constantly told about the Nandoni dam. “If they don't tell us about the Nandoni Dam, they tell us that there is nothing they can do as the Sinthumule/Kutama area is dry,” added another resident.

September also heard how the ongoing shortage of water was seriously affecting feeding schemes at Magau schools. A teacher in one of the schools in the village confirmed that learners were coming to class without taking a bath.

An old man who also confirmed that there was no water for cooking, bathing and washing, was booed by residents when he alleged that certain residents were contributing towards water the shortage by vandalising taps and water metres.

During the gathering, certain residents would raise their fists and shout 'forward with water, forward'. Residents requested representatives from all spheres of the government present at the meeting to construct a water scheme from the Albasini Dam to ensure that there is constant supply of water to their village, but none of the representatives attempted to respond to that call as it would certainly needs funds and skills.

“We've a lot of old existing boreholes at this village which are no longer functioning. We are pleading with you as our leaders to come and check these boreholes and see if it is possible to repair them,” said another concerned resident.

While the purpose of the gathering was more to dicuss the slow pace of water supply, one resident voiced his concern about the services charged by the Makhado Municipality to pre-paid electricity users. Mr Phillemon Mdaka from the Vhembe District Municipality assured residents that, once the Nandoni Dam is completed, there would no more water shortages at their village. “I can tell you that the whole Nadoni project needs more than R99 million and as a district municipality, we are putiing aside R15m every financial year and we will continue until the project is completed. We are affected by the shortage of water; we will send our team to check the existing boreholes,” he said.