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Tap water filled in a container.
Residents of Naas in the Nkomazi Municipality of Mpumalanga are accusing the municipality of colluding with water tanker owners to sabotage the area’s water supply.
They claim that they have been without a consistent water supply for 17 years, while the municipality remains unresponsive to their concerns.
In response to their frustrations, residents took to the streets, blockading the road between Komatipoort and the Mananga Border Post to the Kingdom of Eswatini with stones, tires and other debris.
This protest led to the closure of schools and shops.
About seven villages in the Naas area are reported to be affected by this ongoing water crisis.
The residents express their frustration at being compelled to purchase water.
One resident says, “I am carrying this bucket because we are starved of water. I am tired of buying water. We are struggling and we don’t know what to do, they are not even entertaining our complaints.”
Another local adds that they are paying R500 for water from tankers, however, the prices have now been hiked to R800.
“We need to pay R500 for water from water tankers. If not, there is no water for you.”
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Meanwhile, the acting spokesperson for the Nkomazi Municipality Mbuso Malala says the water problems in Naas are caused by illegal connections and delays in finishing their regional water bulk scheme.
Malala says that the municipality will not supply water to private water tankers following allegations from community members.
Malala further states that they will hold a community engagement again on Wednesday with all the stakeholders involved.
“Currently, we have halted provision of water through private water tankers because the community cites that they are part and parcel of the problem because if people get water from the government, it means they won’t make money. So, now as per the community request, for the next seven days private water tankers won’t be allowed, and they will be given an alternative to say where can they source the water,” adds Malala.
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