R1-20/FREE
22 March 2013
“Amandla Metsi!” Lizzy Bapela Community members of the Rapotokwane Village repeatedly shouted the word “water” to the mayor of Bela Bela Freddy Hlungwane during his visit in the area. Hlungwane addressed the community of Rapotokwane during a Water Week event held in the area on Monday, 18 March. The area has serious water supply problems. On the day of the event, the seriousness of the problem came to the fore when there was no water to drink for the people who attended the event. Representatives from the district municipality took cold drinks from a caterer and handed it out to the residents in place of water; reasoning that the drinks were better than nothing was. The community complained about water as the mayor was giving his keynote address. Members of the community felt insulted when the mayor encouraged them to save water that they do not even have. Bela Bela mayor Freddy Hlungwane When promised to deliver the basic service, water, to Hlungwane gave the residents of Rapotokwane. Photo: Lizzy the usual greeting Bapela
Hlungwane tried to calm down the of Amandla, which should be followed up with Awethu, the community re- people in the presence of their Chief, sponded every time with the word Vuma Mahlangu, by speaking to them Meetse (water) instead of Awethu. in their mother tongue, isiNdebele. To ad further insult to the injury, resiThey shouted that they wanted water dents waited for hours for the deputy for their community. The mayor said that the municipality minister of Water Affairs to arrive at the event after they were would make sure that they told that he would attend. install water connections He never showed up. for the area and start bill“We live Only Hlungwane and The ing residents for the water on things Bela Bela Speaker, Shadi that they use. He said that like Bunny Monanyane attended the the money paid for servevent on behalf of the ices enables the municiChows that Bela Bela municipality. pality to deliver basic servwe make According to a stateices. from ment by the department, Community members the National Water Week complained bitterly about bread, is an awareness week the fact that they had no atchar and campaign, taking place access to water. They chips”... from 18-24 March. The said that they felt that their campaign serves as a leaders are degrading powerful campaign them with empty prommechanism re-iterating the value of ises. One resident said that residents had water, the need for sustainable manto pay R30 every few days to hire a agement of this scarce resource and donkey cart to bring water for them. the role water plays in eradicating povPensioners have it especially difficult erty and under-development in South under these circumstances, because Africa. The awareness creation is coupled they do not have the physical strength to fetch the water themselves. If they with the responsibility that every citicannot pay for water, they have to go zen must take in ensuring the integrity of water resources and its efficient without. Another resident told the meeting that use. The department sates that the theme the people of that area had to eat food that did not take any water to prepare, seeks to accentuate and emphasize because they did not have access to the fact that water is central to all water on a daily basis. “We live on forms of life and that everyone has a things like Bunny Chows that we make responsibility to conserve and use it from bread, atchar and chips,” he said. sparingly.