Water woes for neglected villagers

Working in the field of community development often lays bare the intersectionality of issues of human and socio-economic rights, climate governance and even corruption that manifests in the absence of accountability.

The realities of all this are all too familiar for Sizeka Mavumengwana, the director of Ukhahlamba Legal Advice and Development Agency  (ULADA) based in Sterkspruit, Eastern Cape.

The centre has been instrumental in seeking accountability for residents of Walaza village who have experienced challenges related to the supply of water for over five years. Things came to a head when in 2024 residents held a service delivery protest targeted at the offices of the Senqu Local Municipality in Lady Grey. Their grievances centred around the irregular supply of water in Walaza and the silence from the authorities in addressing the problem.

Mavumengwana says because Sterkspruit is an entry town into the Eastern Cape from the Free State and Lesotho borders, the impact of the protest was felt in the economic hub of the town as it disrupted major businesses in the area. The pressure was enough for the municipality to agree to engaging residents over their concerns.

The positive outcome of the action was that they had the attention of the municipality. Following the protests, ULADA followed up with the municipality on plans to address the water crisis on behalf of the community and a commitment was made for the construction of a new water pump. Walaza being located on the side of a hill along the trans-provincial Orange River should not have posed a challenge for the community to get water regularly, but Mavumengwana was told by municipal officials that the services to Walaza were interrupted by the arrival of illegal land occupants nearby who siphoned the water meant for Walaza.

“When we enquired with the municipality on why the area had not had water for long periods of time, an official told us that a group of illegal occupiers of land near the village had placed the water supply infrastructure under pressure,” Mavumengwana explains, adding that despite their knowledge of the illegal occupation, the municipality did nothing to mitigate their supposed interruption of water supply to other areas until after the protest.

The ward councillor responsible for the area had also not been effective in getting answers on behalf of residents. Mavumengwana says residents often feel like they have to fight their own battles without the municipality assisting them. Prior to the water crisis, there had been a petition for the building of a clinic for the area. Although a group of community representatives addressed the matter at Sengqu, they were referred instead to the Joe Gqabi District Municipality where they were assured that the village does qualify for its own clinic, but were referred further to the provincial government instead. The positive outcome of the efforts of the community in this respect was that a mobile clinic was provided for the area. It comes to Walaza once a week.

While the construction of the new water pump got off to a good start in 2025, the project has since stalled several times without explanation. A short-term measure in the meantime was the provision of water trucks, but these two did not follow a regular schedule, and residents are often told they are broken down and not in a good condition. This leads to residents having to go days without water and being forced to buy from a private supplier who has suddenly emerged without explanation with a water truck of her own. She charges steep amounts, however, and not everyone in the area can afford to get water from her regularly. Mavumengwana says it’s a mystery how this supplier became aware of the water needs of the village. A further mystery is that it is not clear if she is contracted to the municipality or not, nor do the residents know where she sources her water from.

“Not everyone can afford to buy water from this person, but those who can have to pay R800 for 5000 litres and R200 for 2500 litres. It’s an unsustainable situation, really.”