Fed-up of waiting for authorities, Zigadini residents are taking matters into their own hands, pooling money to set up their own water supply.
Residents of Zigadini location near KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere) in the Eastern Cape are pooling their money to install their own water supply system after years of sharing water sources with animals. Meanwhile, the district municipality faces scrutiny with questions raised about underspending of infrastructure grants.
Each household is contributing R1,000 for infrastructure and an additional R750 for labour. Most of the villagers are pensioners who rely on social grants, and this is a big expense for them.
The community has so far managed to purchase two 5,000-litre tanks and pipes and has connected 14 households.
“It’s a lot of money, but we’re tired of drinking water from where pigs swim. We want clean water,” said Nonkazimlo Nqalathi.
The village falls in ward 24 of Umzimvubu Local Municipality but Alfred Nzo District is responsible for water supply. In 2019, it installed a borehole, but it never worked. In 2022, the district municipality returned and installed water infrastructure in Machibini. But other areas – Moyeni, Mampondomiseni and the rest of Zigadini location – were left without water access.
“We are hoping that the municipality will meet us halfway, but we can’t wait any longer,” said Nqalathi.
Ward 24 Councillor Mlungiseleli Jonase (ANC) said there is currently no budget for the project.
Alfred Nzo water service provision manager Nkosinathi Gule said the plan is to connect Zigadini area to Machibini’s supply, but this depends on budget availability.
While residents invest their own money, the Alfred Nzo municipality has been warned about underspending its infrastructure grants.
In correspondence GroundUp has seen, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs warned in September that it will withhold further grant payments due to persistent underspending. Of the R123-million in grants, the municipality had spent only R16-million (13%), said COGTA.
However, the municipality responded that expenditure would in fact reach 66% once all invoices were received, and it asked that funds not be withheld.
COGTA spokesperson Pheello Oliphant confirmed that a second tranche of infrastructure grant money was transferred in October.
Alfred Nzo spokesperson Nelisile Xolo said the municipality dismisses any report that suggests underspending for the year ending 30 June 2024, and that it was committed to spending all funds for the current year.
Zithobile Mvinjana, of Mampondomiseni, said since the municipality is failing them, it must just supply taps and pipes, “so people can continue on their own”.
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Lime
Why is gambling banned in South Africa?
Because there are too many cheetahs.
Taz Ringer
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?