Abram Tsotetsi, who was born completely blind, comes out of his shack and calls to his neighbours to bring him water.
"My taps are dry. I feel like the municipality has disabled me for the second time. It's hard enough being blind, but it's horrible when you are blind and don't have water to drink, cook and wash," says Tsotetsi, who lives alone in his one-room shack in Kokosi township in Fochville, near Carletonville.
Tsotetsi is one of hundreds of people in Kokosi whose taps ran dry six weeks ago. The Merafong municipality's silence on the matter has left the residents confused, especially since the water supply has not been interrupted in Fochville town, less than 1km away.
The municipality now trucks 54000 litres of water to Kokosi every day. Rumours of faulty or stolen pressure valves and the municipality's apparent failure to pay its water suppliers, have also done the rounds in Kokosi.
But this is the least of Tsotetsi's problems.
"I don't know what caused my taps to run dry. But whatever it is, it has interrupted my life. Normally, I'm self-sufficient, but now I have to depend on other people to bring me water so that I can go on with my life. It's a struggle," says Tsotsetsi, who survives on a disability grant.
His neighbour, Jackson Pekile, 86, suffers from chest pains and sore knees and struggles to walk as far as his gate.
"On Saturday (last week) I had to scream to get the attention of the water truck driver as he was passing my house. I can't go to water collection points because I'm old," says Pekile.
Nurses at Thusanang Clinic complained that infection control has been compromised.
The clinic also receives water from trucks but sometimes this is not enough.
"We see more than 200 patients daily and sometimes we cannot wash our hands in between attending patients. There's a big chance that we could be spreading diseases without being aware," says a nurse.
Education centres have also been affected.
Caregivers at Thembalethu Creche, which caters for 180 children, sometimes have to send them home when they have soiled themselves.
Yesterday, there was a strong stench coming from the creche's toilets.
Community activist Sibusiso Ndubatha said municipal officials went around the township with a loud-hailer last week, a month after the taps dried up.
"They told us that a valve had been stolen from the water plant and that it would be sorted out the next day. But they never did and we started hearing stories that the municipality had not paid its water suppliers," he said.
The municipality's manager of corporate communications, Chris Spies, said water problems were caused by the theft of parts from a water plant on April 18.
He said the stolen parts were replaced three days later. However,higher-lying areas were still experiencing pressure problems, and consultants were working to fix the problem.
sifilel@sowetan.co.za
'The council has disabled me'
Abram Tsotetsi, who was born completely blind, comes out of his shack and calls to his neighbours to bring him water.
"My taps are dry. I feel like the municipality has disabled me for the second time. It's hard enough being blind, but it's horrible when you are blind and don't have water to drink, cook and wash," says Tsotetsi, who lives alone in his one-room shack in Kokosi township in Fochville, near Carletonville.
Tsotetsi is one of hundreds of people in Kokosi whose taps ran dry six weeks ago. The Merafong municipality's silence on the matter has left the residents confused, especially since the water supply has not been interrupted in Fochville town, less than 1km away.
The municipality now trucks 54000 litres of water to Kokosi every day. Rumours of faulty or stolen pressure valves and the municipality's apparent failure to pay its water suppliers, have also done the rounds in Kokosi.
But this is the least of Tsotetsi's problems.
"I don't know what caused my taps to run dry. But whatever it is, it has interrupted my life. Normally, I'm self-sufficient, but now I have to depend on other people to bring me water so that I can go on with my life. It's a struggle," says Tsotsetsi, who survives on a disability grant.
His neighbour, Jackson Pekile, 86, suffers from chest pains and sore knees and struggles to walk as far as his gate.
"On Saturday (last week) I had to scream to get the attention of the water truck driver as he was passing my house. I can't go to water collection points because I'm old," says Pekile.
Nurses at Thusanang Clinic complained that infection control has been compromised.
The clinic also receives water from trucks but sometimes this is not enough.
"We see more than 200 patients daily and sometimes we cannot wash our hands in between attending patients. There's a big chance that we could be spreading diseases without being aware," says a nurse.
Education centres have also been affected.
Caregivers at Thembalethu Creche, which caters for 180 children, sometimes have to send them home when they have soiled themselves.
Yesterday, there was a strong stench coming from the creche's toilets.
Community activist Sibusiso Ndubatha said municipal officials went around the township with a loud-hailer last week, a month after the taps dried up.
"They told us that a valve had been stolen from the water plant and that it would be sorted out the next day. But they never did and we started hearing stories that the municipality had not paid its water suppliers," he said.
The municipality's manager of corporate communications, Chris Spies, said water problems were caused by the theft of parts from a water plant on April 18.
He said the stolen parts were replaced three days later. However,higher-lying areas were still experiencing pressure problems, and consultants were working to fix the problem.
sifilel@sowetan.co.za
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