00:00:00
Speaker 1: Mongezi Koko, EWN reporter in Broncosprate for us. He's been speaking to people there. Mongezi, good afternoon to you. What's the sentiment on the ground in Broncosprate?
00:00:09
Speaker 2: A very good afternoon to you, Mandy. Fear has gripped this particular area of Zutobeni here in Broncosprate. We do see a number of water tankers being deployed, but it seems as though the sentiment on the ground is that of fear and mistrust, saying that how can we suddenly trust water tankers supplied by the very same city that failed to alert us ahead of time of the dangers posed by the water that they failed to purify. So it seems to be an issue to pollinate, excuse me. It seems to be an issue that has gripped this entire neighborhood, a lot of fear. And we're standing outside the Zitori clinic where you can see a number of people queuing out, trying to get help and assistance. ranging in ages. We spoke to an 82-year-old man who says that he is quite fragile and old, pointing to the fact that he believes that his end of life is soon, but then saying to be met by such a challenge, which is very preventable, saying that had the city just informed him of the dangers posed by the water that they rely so heavily on, he would have taken the necessary steps to avoid drinking the water. We actually heard him explain to us how this has created a ripple effect considering some of the ailments that he is already contending with. After that, Mandy, we managed to speak to a 69-year-old grandmother who had come to the clinic with her three-year-old grandson who's also presenting with symptoms related to gastrointestinal illness primarily nausea and also vomiting and diarrhea. And I just want you to take a listen to what she has to say.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: They should rather close the water until they get their finances in order to.
00:01:57
Speaker 2: Treat the water. What's the use of supplying us with contaminated water? It's causing more problems.
00:02:02
Speaker 1: Is there a sense that there will actually be accountability for what has happened?
00:02:09
Speaker 2: Well, Mandy, what we do know so far in terms of accountability is that some political parties are sort of taking things into their own hands, matters into their own hands, opening up criminal cases primarily against Tswane Mea Nasi Pimoya. We understand that the EFF is going to be opening up a case at the Broncos Prairie Police Station at 1 o'clock this afternoon, which is something Eyewitness News will be covering tomorrow. along with former Mayor Celia Brink, who paid a visit to Zitobe and Itinik earlier today, pointing to the fact that someone needs to be held accountable. Outside of that, hearing from the Gauteng provincial government and the Department of Water and Sanitation, not a clear link as to will some individuals be held individually accountable for what we see on the ground, but really the overwhelming sense that we are getting from the people is that They don't even care about who's held accountable, etc. They just want clean drinking water because they're relying on boreholes that are few and far in between. And then, of course, that major distrust when it comes to the water tankers that they don't understand where the water is coming from exactly.
00:03:16
Speaker 1: Mongezi, thank you very much. Mongezi Koko, EWN reporter in Broncospray for us. I think if I was a resident of Broncospray, obviously there would be fear. There would be extreme concern as well. On the WhatsApp line, hi Mandy, did anyone ask why it is that the water was not chlorinated? Could it possibly be that the supplier was not paid on time? So as I understand it from what the mayor said in the press conference yesterday was the fact that the supplier had quadrupled the price of chlorine. And that's why they couldn't pay for it. So that's been one of the major issues. But clearly there was negligence here because they also did not inform the residents. And this is going to be a huge local government issue. Local government is about water in your taps. It's about electricity to your house. It's about potholes. It's about refuse collection. This is going to be a massive, massive thing in Tuanep.
Speaker 1: Mongezi Koko, EWN reporter in Broncosprate for us. He's been speaking to people there. Mongezi, good afternoon to you. What's the sentiment on the ground in Broncosprate?
00:00:09
Speaker 2: A very good afternoon to you, Mandy. Fear has gripped this particular area of Zutobeni here in Broncosprate. We do see a number of water tankers being deployed, but it seems as though the sentiment on the ground is that of fear and mistrust, saying that how can we suddenly trust water tankers supplied by the very same city that failed to alert us ahead of time of the dangers posed by the water that they failed to purify. So it seems to be an issue to pollinate, excuse me. It seems to be an issue that has gripped this entire neighborhood, a lot of fear. And we're standing outside the Zitori clinic where you can see a number of people queuing out, trying to get help and assistance. ranging in ages. We spoke to an 82-year-old man who says that he is quite fragile and old, pointing to the fact that he believes that his end of life is soon, but then saying to be met by such a challenge, which is very preventable, saying that had the city just informed him of the dangers posed by the water that they rely so heavily on, he would have taken the necessary steps to avoid drinking the water. We actually heard him explain to us how this has created a ripple effect considering some of the ailments that he is already contending with. After that, Mandy, we managed to speak to a 69-year-old grandmother who had come to the clinic with her three-year-old grandson who's also presenting with symptoms related to gastrointestinal illness primarily nausea and also vomiting and diarrhea. And I just want you to take a listen to what she has to say.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: They should rather close the water until they get their finances in order to.
00:01:57
Speaker 2: Treat the water. What's the use of supplying us with contaminated water? It's causing more problems.
00:02:02
Speaker 1: Is there a sense that there will actually be accountability for what has happened?
00:02:09
Speaker 2: Well, Mandy, what we do know so far in terms of accountability is that some political parties are sort of taking things into their own hands, matters into their own hands, opening up criminal cases primarily against Tswane Mea Nasi Pimoya. We understand that the EFF is going to be opening up a case at the Broncos Prairie Police Station at 1 o'clock this afternoon, which is something Eyewitness News will be covering tomorrow. along with former Mayor Celia Brink, who paid a visit to Zitobe and Itinik earlier today, pointing to the fact that someone needs to be held accountable. Outside of that, hearing from the Gauteng provincial government and the Department of Water and Sanitation, not a clear link as to will some individuals be held individually accountable for what we see on the ground, but really the overwhelming sense that we are getting from the people is that They don't even care about who's held accountable, etc. They just want clean drinking water because they're relying on boreholes that are few and far in between. And then, of course, that major distrust when it comes to the water tankers that they don't understand where the water is coming from exactly.
00:03:16
Speaker 1: Mongezi, thank you very much. Mongezi Koko, EWN reporter in Broncospray for us. I think if I was a resident of Broncospray, obviously there would be fear. There would be extreme concern as well. On the WhatsApp line, hi Mandy, did anyone ask why it is that the water was not chlorinated? Could it possibly be that the supplier was not paid on time? So as I understand it from what the mayor said in the press conference yesterday was the fact that the supplier had quadrupled the price of chlorine. And that's why they couldn't pay for it. So that's been one of the major issues. But clearly there was negligence here because they also did not inform the residents. And this is going to be a huge local government issue. Local government is about water in your taps. It's about electricity to your house. It's about potholes. It's about refuse collection. This is going to be a massive, massive thing in Tuanep.
