Phuti Mosomane and Tlholohelo Mosala
Every five years, residents at the small village of Thaba Bosiu in the Eastern Free State province, like the rest of the country, go to the polls to vote for a government with the hope that they will get just one thing; running water.
But 30 years down the line- water remains a pipe dream. We visited the area in Qwaqwa to investigate how the community has been coping without the supply of clean water into their homes.
Upon arrival, we met a community member Nthabiseng Moloi who said that her 14 year old daughter has never seen water coming out of the taps since birth.
Simone Molaba, a 70 year old resident, said the situation is bizarre given that QwaQwa has an abundance of water. But he blames the government for ignoring their plight, and said it is for this that he has since become the local organiser for ACM- African Content Movement which is contesting in the elections.
According to the Free State Water and Sanitation, Maluti-a-Phofung municipality uses four bulk water supply system including the three biggest Dams Sterkfontein (Supplying Gauteng, Harrismith, Intabazwe), Fika Patso Dam (supplying 80 of QwaQwa including CBD), and MetsiMatsho Dam (supplying Makwane area).
A local DA campaigner Lesia Mokoena, who lives just 2 km away from Meetse Matso, says he has not received water at home for 17 years. He told Inside Politic that they often drink from the same streams as animals.
In our investigation, Inside Politics found that a project that was meant to alleviate the water problems but has been abandoned as workers have not been paid their wages due to Municipality’s assets being attached including bank accounts.
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