A farming community with 40 households has accused a farmer of depriving them of water by cutting off their supply for the past six months.
The community, close to the coal-mining town of Middelburg in Mpumalanga, said the farmer Johan Roux cut their water supply in May.
The 31 community members who met Sowetan said relations with Roux became sour after his father died in 2013 and he took over Batatfontein farm, which houses nine pensioners and eight child-headed homes.
A nearby dam is used by villagers to wash their clothes, despite the water being slimy and having in the past caused the death of several cows.
When contacted, Roux declined to comment.
As an interim solution to the water challenge, community members have dug boreholes for drinking water, that are also accessed by farm animals.
To wash clothes they use water from the dam.
"We also have a piece of land where we used to plant spinach, cabbage, potatoes, beetroot, tomatoes and green beans.
"But we cannot farm on the land because of the water problem. We are now forced to spend R70 on a return trip to Middelburg town just to buy vegetables," Sesi Mokoena said.
Ward councillor Johannes Skosana said the water supply was cut after Roux complained that his storage facility was burgled.
"There used to be two Jojo tanks at Roux's farm that supplied water to the whole community and the electricity used by those tanks was paid for by the municipality.
"But the relationship between the community and Roux became sour after someone broke into his storage room," Skosana said.
"He became angry and cut the water supply."
Skosana said he did not know whether Roux had reported the matter to the police.
Skosana said he reached an agreement last week with Roux, who has also complained that the community's cattle were grazing on his land, to reinstall the water tanks.
"I'm going to meet the community members soon and tell them of the decision to reinstall the Jojo tanks. However, I cannot commit to a date on when the reinstallation will be completed," he said.
Skosana said he visited farmers in the area who have fallen behind in their payments of rates and taxes and services.
sibanyonim@sowetan.co.za
Vegetables don't grow here any more
A farming community with 40 households has accused a farmer of depriving them of water by cutting off their supply for the past six months.
The community, close to the coal-mining town of Middelburg in Mpumalanga, said the farmer Johan Roux cut their water supply in May.
The 31 community members who met Sowetan said relations with Roux became sour after his father died in 2013 and he took over Batatfontein farm, which houses nine pensioners and eight child-headed homes.
A nearby dam is used by villagers to wash their clothes, despite the water being slimy and having in the past caused the death of several cows.
When contacted, Roux declined to comment.
As an interim solution to the water challenge, community members have dug boreholes for drinking water, that are also accessed by farm animals.
To wash clothes they use water from the dam.
"We also have a piece of land where we used to plant spinach, cabbage, potatoes, beetroot, tomatoes and green beans.
"But we cannot farm on the land because of the water problem. We are now forced to spend R70 on a return trip to Middelburg town just to buy vegetables," Sesi Mokoena said.
Ward councillor Johannes Skosana said the water supply was cut after Roux complained that his storage facility was burgled.
"There used to be two Jojo tanks at Roux's farm that supplied water to the whole community and the electricity used by those tanks was paid for by the municipality.
"But the relationship between the community and Roux became sour after someone broke into his storage room," Skosana said.
"He became angry and cut the water supply."
Skosana said he did not know whether Roux had reported the matter to the police.
Skosana said he reached an agreement last week with Roux, who has also complained that the community's cattle were grazing on his land, to reinstall the water tanks.
"I'm going to meet the community members soon and tell them of the decision to reinstall the Jojo tanks. However, I cannot commit to a date on when the reinstallation will be completed," he said.
Skosana said he visited farmers in the area who have fallen behind in their payments of rates and taxes and services.
sibanyonim@sowetan.co.za
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