Residents of Madabani village in the Sinthumule area believe they are at risk of contracting cholera. They currently share their water resources with livestock and the streams where they need to fetch water are also dangerous. Less than a month ago, a young man and his sister were swept away by a stream when they went to the Divhini stream to do their washing.

According to a community member, Mr Freddy Masakona, the community members in this village are prone to diseases when using unpurified stream water for drinking, washing and cooking purposes. He says they are tired of the empty promises made by the Makhado Mu-nicipality.

Masakona says villagers have no access to clean water. He also says villagers have to lead a harsh life, while the municipality’s officials live a life of luxury. “We last saw a drop of water coming from the municipal water taps four months ago,” he said.

The headman of Madabani village, Mr Mavhungu Rambulana, says he is aware that there is no clean water available in this village, but that this is the responsibility of the municipality. Many cholera-related cases were reported in Sinthumule and Kutama since January this year and many people lost their lives because of the disease.

The lack of clean water also created opportunities for entrepreneurs. Residents who have boreholes in their yards are gaining, because they charge around R2 or more for 25 litres of water. Those who are able to deliver, charge R10 per 25 litre water container.

The mayor of Makhado municipality, Cllr Mavhungu Lerule, appealed to community members to allow the municipality to close off the dangerous stream flowing past the village. She said that the municipality had consulted with community members and argued that the stream should be closed off. The community ap-parently refused this request and said they needed the water for their livestock

The spokesperson of the Makhado Municipality, Louis Bobodi denied the claim that the residents have spent four months going without water. He said the municipality makes use of water tankers to deliver water to the area. Bobodi further said that the Vhembe district municipality is busy connecting water pipes from the Nandoni dam to address the problem of water in the areas. He warned those people who are still using the water for cooking and drinking purposes not to do so.