Clean water is not only a basic human right but also an essential commodity that should be enjoyed by all households in South Africa.

Clean water is not only a basic human right but also an essential commodity that should be enjoyed by all households in South Africa.

This is not the case in Ekangala near Bronkhorstpruit, where thousands of people have been without running water for six months.

Poor families in the Mpumalanga township have been exposed to serious maladies since their water pipes were damaged by heavy rains last year.

This does not bode well for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, whose mission it is to efficiently provide adequate and safe water to all South Africans.

The government must move swiftly to help these destitute families. They have suffered enough.