Water starved community pin hopes on mayor’s visit to yield results
No working borehole in the community since November 2024, says community leader TH Mashava
The community of Lombard under the Mttititi Traditional Council in ward 35 of Collins Chabane Local Municipality is pinning their hopes on the recent visit by Vhembe District Municipality Executive mayor Freda Nkondo that it will yield the desired results.
Nkondo visited the village recently on October 22 to listen to the community that had written a letter to hear and outlined a number of challenges.
At the meeting held at Lombard EPC church, local community leader Mr TH Mashava told the executive mayor of the community’s challenges.
“First I must thank the Executive Mayor for visiting our villages, “says Mashava and added, “You have restored our faith in the government because the government does not come to Lombard. It is as if we must always become spectators of other villages being visited by the government and service delivery taking place there.”
He said the water shortage is acute: “Since November last year, there has not been a working borehole in the village. After the technicians from the district municipality failed to fix the borehole, we asked the municipality that we would do it ourselves and get technicians to come and help us. We talked to or young people working in Gauteng and together we agreed to assist ourselves but when we sought the municipality’s permission, the executive mayor said we could not do the job that is supposed to be done by the government and she has thus decided to come and see it herself,” said Mashava.
He also told the mayor of the community’s concerns; “The reservoir that is in the village is the one provided by the former Gazankulu government while other villages around us have big reservoirs provided by the new government. The reservoir has no lid and someone can just put a rotten bird or items and people will drink such dirty water,” he said.
Mashava said he was representing all structures in the village led by Hosi Mtititi’s council.
The executive mayor said she was impressed by the presentation of the community and the dignified way in which the community handled their problems.
She said she was going to look at the problems of the community and would come back to the community.
On the question of the uncovered reservoir, she asked the manager stationed in Malamulele Xihluke Chauke to address the matter and he said they would clean the water and provide the necessary lid.
Nkondo and her entourage were then taken for an inspection in loco and they were shown the dysfunctional boreholes and the reservoir.
Members of the community expressed hope that some of their problems would be solved.
