Shortage of water in this area will soon be a thing of the past, said the executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality, Cllr Falaza Mdaka, during the district mayoral Imbizo recently held at the Masia Ha-Vhangani community ground last Friday.

He acknowledged that the challenges of poor service delivery which the people of Masia are encountering will all be addressed. Community members were given an opportunity to submit their concerns directly to the executive mayor during the imbizo.

Most community members, like Angelina Nematomboni of Veyboom Village, one of the Masia area’s poverty-stricken and previously disadvantaged rural areas, complained about the shortage of water, which is hitting most parts of the Vhembe District. “We don’t have water to drink, cook or to wash our clothes. We have been reporting this matter to the regional offices of the Makhado Municipality at Hlanganani, but nothing has happened. We are tired of empty promises. What we want is water, so that we can survive,” she said.

Nematomboni added that she had been trying to register for the RDP house for the past ten years, but she was not getting the house. “The officials who administrate the issuing of RDP houses often give the houses to their relatives and forget about poor people,” she said. Masia was recently hit by a devastating storm, leaving people without houses stranded in the storm.

Community members also told Mdaka that they were aware that the government had allocated millions to address the challenges of water shortages, damaged roads and houses, but the people who were supposed to implement these particular projects were failing them.

Mrs Sarah Ngobeni of Ha-Matsila said that it was frustrating and that her house was one of the eight in the village without electricity. “I have been without electricity for the past five years, while other people in the village have electricity connected to their houses. We have been reporting this to the councillors, but nothing is happening,” she complained.

The players of the Tshirunzanani All Stars old-age soccer team complained that they had been representing the district in elderly soccer without any gear, and said the district should at least buy them a soccer kit, which Mdaka pledged to buy in January next year.

Responding to the community’s concerns with regard to water, Mdaka stressed that the bulk water supply project was being addressed and that they were only awaiting the contractors to finalize the construction of the purification plant at Nandoni Dam. “Because the Nandoni project will take long, we have decided to equip six boreholes in the area,” he added.

On the issue of RDP house allocation, Mdaka said that the district would ensure that the ward committees and tribal offices worked together to identify people who qualified for the houses. “People tend to make mistakes and allocate RDP houses to the wrong people and I will make sure that the right people get the houses,” he said.

Mdaka outlined that serious measures will be taken against community members who vandalise water taps.

It was during this event that the newly appointed mayor of Makhado Municipality, Cllr Mavhungu Luruli, appeared for the first time in public as the mayor.