Pupils and animals share the last water of the Mbwedi

With drought all over the country, water has become one of the scarcest resources in many areas.

For the community of Tshidzini outside Thohoyandou, who mostly depend on water from the Mbwedi River, the situation is desperate as the river is almost dry.

The residents, who go for weeks without water, say on weekends the situation becomes chaotic at the river, with schoolchildren and parents and even animals aiming for positions at the river. Residents say the river has been their last hope as the government cannot provide them with water.

“Water has been a persistent problem for years here. The government installed taps here, but they remain dry most of the times. We sometimes get water once in a fortnight and our source has been this river, despite the fact that we have to compete with animals for water. Just today we killed two big snakes on those rocks and there are crocodiles roaming around which put our lives at risk,” says Ms Nyambeni Mudau.

The community has engaged the government on many occasions, and they have lost hope as they also see the local councilor using the same river water. "If our councilor is forced to use river water, it means the government is unable to provide water. We will use this dirty water as there is nothing we can do," Mudau says, adding that people sometimes fight during weekends for spaces to do their washing.

Mr Matodzi Ralushai, Vhembe District Municipality's spokesperson, confirmed that the water situation is bad at the area, but said it had changed for the better recently. "Yes, we know of their plight, and that water is not available on a daily basis is true. These people have to share with the Tshaulu residents and when water comes, they store it in big drums and the river water is only used for washing. We are, however, improving the situation all the time as new resrvoirs are built and money is set aside for boreholes."

He emphasised that as they are trying to provide water in some villages, "villagers themselves are destroying the infrastructure."

Date:06 March 2015

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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