Water is necessary for all life on our planet.

US rapper Jay-Z recently went on a world tour to highlight the importance of easily accessible water, but, closer to home, the community of Maratapelo, on the outskirts of Polokwane, is still deprived of this necessity.

A shortage of water, especially during crucial times such as the festive season, has become normal in this area.

The local councillors don't seem to care - if they did, they would have done something about this problem long ago.

Their action, or lack of it, might be because of the complacency displayed by a local community which has come to accept the incompetence of the previous regime.

Apartheid's ignorance of the needs of rural communities still exists today.

Ironically, at one of the entrances to the village of Maratapelo is a big display board boasting of the millions of rands that have been provided for the allocation of a water supply to the area.

Instead of earning huge salaries for doing nothing, the councillors must wake up and do something for the community they were elected to serve.

Phillimon Mnisi

Johannesburg