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Water is a scarce commodity in Ficksburg, Free State.
After activist Andries Tatane was shot and killed in 2011 by police while protesting against his council for failing to deliver water to its people, the Setsoto Local Municipality set about fixing the problem.
But it is not quite fixed yet – R18 million was spent on a 10-megalitre reservoir and on refurbishing the water purification plant to ensure that water is pumped directly to Tatane’s home township of Meqheleng.
The reservoir was finally built, but residents are still complaining about an inconsistent water supply.
“We didn’t have water here for the longest time ... As you can see, there is no tap,” said Meqheleng resident Mathushe Majora (45).
Life without water and sanitation, she said, was a life without dignity.
“The same water pipe we connected ourselves to the water meter didn’t have a drop of water for three days. Even if we had toilets, how could we use them without water for three days? What will you do with that? I’m not sure how the elections will turn out because this government is not working for us all, but only for a select few.”
However, Setsoto municipal manager Tshepiso Ramakarane says that although they have made the infrastructure available to provide water to the communities, they have to have water to start with. The area is currently suffering from a massive drought.
“The only spanner [in the works] will always be minimum rainfall or drought, which leads to our rivers and dams being dry – as is the case right now,” he said.
“The Caledon River is hardly flowing and all dams in the three towns – Ficksburg, Clocolan and Marquard – are empty. The only dam that has some water in it is near Senekal.
“We have already alerted the national department of water and sanitation to activate the release of water from the Lesotho Highlands.”
Despite the drought, some residents are putting a positive spin on the water crisis.
Liau Ramaisa, a Meqheleng resident and a volunteer at the local radio station, said he had seen significant improvements, especially with the completion of the reservoir.
“Service delivery has been very poor, but building the reservoir has helped my community a lot. We used to go for weeks without water, but now it’s not as bad,” he said.
The Setsoto council’s ANC chief whip, George Makhalanyane, says that with about a year to go until the local government elections, his party will be focusing on teaching residents to save water.
“There were serious protests about water in 2011 and 2012. We can’t promise people water when the dams are dry, so we are educating them on how to save it,” he said.
Makhalanyane admits that before the local government elections in 2011, his party promised residents it would deliver houses, toilets, water and roads. But they have not yet ticked all the boxes on the list and the bucket system remains firmly in place in many areas in Setsoto, including Meqheleng.
Still, there are signs that the fortunes of Tatane’s township are starting to change.
In April 2011, its community hall and library were burnt down by residents protesting against poor service delivery and Tatane’s killing.
The following year, ground was broken on a new multisports centre, which today towers above the township. Its completion date has been shifted to September, but the youngsters hanging around at the community centre next door told City Press they were excited they would be playing soccer on the grounds soon.
“You see what the ANC has done for us. We will soon be playing on that beautiful field and the whole town can come to watch us,” said one.
When City Press started the Tatane Project in 2011, most of Meqheleng’s roads were rutted, soaked in sewage and impassable. Last week, we found more roads have been tarred, and the Expanded Public Works Programme was in full swing, with young residents cutting grass, sweeping streets and cleaning gravesites.
Aside from teaching residents to save water, the ANC has come up with another plan to score votes, Makhalanyane says. This time their focus is on providing housing for the elderly, and his party will be rolling out a project next month to build 76 houses in the Setsoto municipality.
“This initiative has been in the pipeline as the party has identified areas in which it would like to roll out such projects, and Setsoto municipality will be one of the beneficiaries,” he said.
But local DA councillor Isak Vries dismisses the plans as an “electioneering tool. Because we are communicating with the communities. They will see through this.”
Elections or not, housing is a major issue in Meqheleng, where 2011 Census data reveal that in Ward 18, 65% of people live in shacks.
Joseph Mokoaledi, City Press’ citizen mayor of Ficksburg, said that after water, housing will be the town’s next political battleground.
“Many people are complaining about housing, saying that allocations are only given to some and not others. There are stands where work has not been completed and people want homes,” he said.
Majora agreed, saying that she moved out of her family home in Zone 8 in Meqheleng because she had been promised a stand and a home. She was assigned a plot and moved her shack on to it, but nothing has happened.
“They told us that they would bring the material to start building ages ago. As you can see, I have the yard wide open for them to come. Instead, these naughty children walk through my yard,” she said.
. Population: 112 597
. Households: 33 688, of which 26.6% live in shacks
. Access to flush or chemical toilets: 59.1%
. Employment rate: 30.8%
. Average monthly income: R1 200
Results
. Registered voters: 59 066
. Percentage of voters who cast
their vote: 68.7%
. ANC: 76% (30 271 votes)
. DA: 12% (4 886 votes)
. EFF: 7% (2 648 votes)
. FF+: 2% (627 votes)
. Cope: 2% (887 votes)
Source: Wazimap
