TIETOJA TÄSTÄ JAKSOSTA
Some residents of Zithobeni in Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, have vowed to boycott the upcoming local government elections, saying they still do not have access to safe drinking water from their taps. More than 400 people have been treated for gastrointestinal illness after drinking water that the City of Tshwane failed to chlorinate adequately. Residents are demanding that the water issue be resolved as soon as possible, saying that they refuse to cast their ballots. Meanwhile, residents of Bezuidenhout Valley in Johannesburg are also experiencing water problems after Johannesburg Water cut the supply to the suburb earlier this week due to fears that the water may be contaminated. And you would be aware that water challenges are not limited to on Bronkhorstspruit. Here is 57-year-old, Busang Mere from Sebonelo village in the North West who says he still struggles to access clean drinking water, daily. For him democracy is just a pipe dream...From the North West, travel south to Makana Municipality in the Eastern Cape where you find an elderly member of the community, Norah Habana, who is raising her grandchild who lives with a disability. She struggles because she cannot leave the child unattended to go and fetch water. We could criss-cross the country and find numerous example of South Africans citizens who do not access to a basic human need but for more on this we are now joined on the line by David Mahlobo , Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation , Dr Ferrial Adam, Executive Director at WaterCan AND Vusumuzi Dlamini, provincial Head for Public Protector office in Gauteng