“Our Children Are Bullied Because They Smell”

Over 200 households in Polokwane, Limpopo, have endured an erratic water supply since 2019. People living in high-lying Extension 71B say they used to have a reliable supply of tap water, but for over five years their taps have often been dry, despite hundreds of millions of rand spent on water infrastructure and no water shortage at the dams.

Almost every week, Polokwane Municipality cites shutdowns, pipe bursts and maintenance on water schemes as the cause of outages.

Supply in neighbouring areas, such as Extension 71A and 76, has however improved thanks to the Seshego Water Treatment Plant.

The Seshego plant was initially budgeted at R190-million when construction commenced in 2019, but an additional R48-million was required in December 2022, and a further R86-million in March 2024.

Residents of 71B say they have to use buckets to relieve themselves instead of their flush toilets. Dirty laundry is piling up. Children go to school in dirty uniforms and without bathing.

“Our children often face bullying over their smell,” said community member Martina Maela.

Maela said they get tap water once or twice a month, usually in the middle of the night and it stops by morning. Municipal water tankers supply once or twice a week, and sometimes the water smells foul, she said.

“Sometimes the tanker water isn’t enough and people fight over it,” said Maela.

Polokwane Municipality spokesperson Thipa Selala said many areas that previously experienced supply issues are now receiving water but acknowledged that some areas still have outages. Selala said that progress was a result of interventions like the new Seshego water treatment plant which adds about 8 to 10Ml of water per day.

But Selala said that boreholes supplying the plant have been vandalised. This has has reduced the plant’s capacity

Recently, the municipality announced the Olifantspoort Scheme pump stations would be shut down for 48 hours this week, with more shutdowns expected in September.

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