Many communities still without access to clean water amid COVID-19: Campaigners

The South African Food Sovereignty Campaign (SAFSC) has been keeping track of the plight of water-stressed communities in the country since 2014 when the drought was about to take hold.

These are households that collect water from rivers, at standpipes or rely on unreliable boreholes to meet their needs.

The Campaign says the COVID-19 pandemic is compounding the situation for these citizens.

Vishwas Satgar, who is an activist with the Campaign and is the Board Chairperson of the Cooperative and Policy Alternative Centre, says when the drought hit, many of these communities weren't provided with the necessary support in the form of water tankers and installation of borehole pumps.

He says in some areas, existing boreholes that were problematic weren't fixed while there was poor sustainable management of the groundwater resources, particularly in the Karoo.

"We went into the COVID-19 lockdown with all of these backlogs in the context of the drought, which still continues in parts of the Eastern Cape. The government has committed to roll-out 20 000 tanks. That's not enough. On their records, they've actually achieved a roll-out of about 17 000 tanks right now", he said.

When the lockdown began, the Department of Water and Sanitation identified 2 000 communities across South Africa that didn't have adequate access to the precious resource and needed urgent intervention.

SAFSC created an online monitoring tool to help these communities to track this water delivery to their areas.

"At least 79 communities have reported water-stress. The problems range from municipalities that are not willing to ensure a steady and a secure supply of water to communities, so a lot of water is intermittent, the water gets cut off, and when it comes on again, it's also not known to communities. These have been the problems before COVID-19, and they continue in many communities that have reported", Satgar said.

The community of Machibini in the Umkhanyakude District is among those that have come forward with their situation. According to residents, they had tap water for two days a week for about two years from 2015. But their taps ran completely dry from May 2017 until today. 

READ: Water tanks distributed in parts of KZN

They say many locals can't afford to buy tanks, while those who can would only make a futile purchase as the rainwater collected would be contaminated by the coal from a nearby mine. The community says the municipality set aside millions of rand last August to address the water crisis, but they've yet to receive a drop.

Eziqhazeni Nazaretha in Umzinyathi has been water-stressed for five years. The community has even gone as far as approaching the offices of the KZN Premier and the President, with no luck. Residents say a team from Uthukela Water was sent to investigate but never heard from them again.

Residents of Manyiseni, situated near KZN's birder with eSwatini, have gone without safe water for seven years. They've been drawing their supply wells and rivers, which they share with animals. They say boreholes haven't been lying broken for years.

Satgar has attributed the crisis to corruption, mismanagement of water infrastructure roll-out and problems not being fixed.

The Campaign, which has been sending its reports to the Ministry and the Presidency, wants government to prioritise all the communities that need water tanks to be delivered and provide a replenishment schedule.

It also wants a proper national map of the water relief roll-out to be provided and has called on the Minister to sound a warning to local governments to ensure an uninterrupted supply of this resource.

Satgar says they're prepared to go the legal route if need be.

He has welcome the large-scale probe into alleged corruption in the department going back several years, announced by Sisulu earlier this month.