Africa-Press – South-Africa. While residents of an informal settlement in Nelson Mandela Bay have no access to clean water due to a lack of communal taps, another one finally had two taps installed after 15 years.
Jo-Anne Msutu from Miller’s Ground was one of many people who used to walk to neighbouring Algoa Park, which is approximately 10km away, to knock on doors for water.
Last week, two communal taps were installed in the informal settlement for its 150 residents.
“It was such a struggle to get water. Sometimes you would get a friendly face when asking someone for water, other times no answer at all but I understand that.
“You can’t just give away water that you pay for. Now I am happy with our two taps because it makes life a bit easier,” said Msutu.
Meanwhile for residents of the Cyril Ramaphosa Village informal settlement, access to water remains a battle with only six taps servicing almost 1 000 people.
Tamara de Vos said they must walk far for water because the communal taps were placed on the outskirts of the settlement, which was also an easy target for thieves.
“[O]ur desire is for these taps to be placed in the middle of the settlement, where we can protect it and access it easily.”
Another resident, Beryl Marks, walked to the closest tap and placed her hand in a hole in the ground and as a clear stream of water flowed out, she said:
Community policing forum chairperson Diane Sias said if the taps were placed closer, they could ensure that people worked in shifts to protect them from being stolen.
Added to this, some locals claim those living in brick houses in the surrounding areas with taps inside their homes, use the communal taps in the settlement to wash their cars.
“When they wash their cars, they tell us that it is not our water because they pay rates and taxes and we don’t, but we have a water meter,” resident Lavern Groenewald said.
The acting superintendent of the Metro’s waterworks depot in Burchell Road, Lauren Geswindt, said additional communal taps would be placed in both settlements in due course.
“Approximately five or six will be erected in the Cyril Ramaphosa Village [informal settlement] and maybe three more in Miller’s Ground,” he added.
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