“Where is our water?” protesters ask mayor

Pensioner Thokozile Mkhize travelled from her village to ask “where is our water?” Photos: Bongane Motaung

Hundreds of people from rural villages took to the streets of Nquthu in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday, demanding water and better roads.

Protesters say they have endured years of empty promises from the government. They still share water with animals, their gravel roads leading to town are not maintained, and they experience frequent electricity outages.

Thokozile Mkhize, a pensioner, said she travelled from her village to hear “from the horse’s mouth, where is our water?”

Placards carried by the protesters read: “Drinking stinky water for many years – is that a right we vote for in South Africa?” and “We pay rates but have no water – that is a crime!”

GroundUp has previously reported on the problems with water and roads faced by people in the villages around Nquthu.

The protesters marched to the centre of town singing struggle songs. They were led by the South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO) and the Progressive Civics Congress (PCC), an organisation to the MK Party.

Burning tires and large stones were used to block roads. Businesses were blocked from operating and high school learners could not write their exams.

Thenjiwe Mchunu, mayor of uMzinyathi District Municipality, told the protesters that the water issue would be resolved in five days. But an official from the municipality’s technical services division, who only gave his last name, Ngubane, said water shedding schedules would have to be introduced for every village.

Ngubane told protesters that the water challenges were due to problems with the pumps at the Vans Drift Water Treatment Plant. A second pump that arrived last week was not ready for use and was sent for repairs.

The protesters said that if they are not happy with the progress after five days, they will protest again.

Lindokuhle Shabalala, mayor of Nquthu Local Municipality, which is responsible for the roads, told the protesters that there are contractors allocated to fix roads in each ward, but this year’s heavy rains delayed the repairs. “We are doing our best to fix reported damage,” said Shabalala.

Protesters took to the streets of Nquthu with knobkieries and wooden planks.

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