Hot weather and an absence of water in households don’t go together well.

Irate residents of Eltivillas endured a near waterless December and January. The idea of the Makhado Municipality to save water by disrupting the water supply is regarded as a cover-up for poor management. Communication is another major problem.

“The first three weeks of December, the water was on from roughly 04:00 to 12:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00. From December 24 to January 4 we had water. We figured out that the person who switches off the water went for his Christmas leave,” said a resident from Eltivillas. The shock came the following week when the water supply was disrupted for days at a time.

“The family could not shower and wash dishes. When you phone the municipality, no one can give you a straight answer. This water situation is really not on!” complained the residents.

Last week, residents also had waterless days in some places. In the new extension, some areas are affected seriously.

“Since last week Thursday the water goes at 09:00 every day and is gone for the whole day,” a resident in Kameel Street said on January 13. Before December, they had water during the afternoon. “We need a proper schedule from the municipality to communicate the times and the areas that will be affected,” the resident said.

This sentiment is shared by Mr Bertus Petzer, another resident of the new extension. Though his own household is not affected much by the disruptions, he feels that these localised disruptions should be communicated properly. “There should be appropriate planning and healthy communication,” Petzer said.

Makhado Municipality spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi said that notices were put up last year at strategic points to indicate the times of water supply disruptions.

“We open water daily at 04:30 and close at 12:30. Then we open at 17:00 and close at 20:30,” Mr Bobodi said on Monday 12. He admitted the municipality will have to “beef up their notification.” No notifications were sent out with monthly accounts.

Bobodi was unable to say for how long the water supply disruptions will continue.

“We are having shortages and are filling up reservoirs,” he said.

Many residents are of the opinion there are no excuses for a local government to be unsuccessful in delivering the basic services that they are paid for. An Eltivillas resident said that rates and taxes there increase every month.

“What are we paying for if we don’t get service? Do they think that because they see a few big houses in Eltivillas,  we can afford to pay astronomical taxes and receive no service?” was the question.

 Mr Herman Smith, chairperson of the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association, said that residents are not bluffed.

“The municipality attempts to offer valid excuses, but this is the result of poor maintenance and management of infrastructure over the past 14 years.”