A glimmer of hope for water shortage
Kgang Moloko
Kgang Moloko
North West Province
Bojanala District municipality
Rustenburg Local Municipality
Phokeng Village
17 June 2024
A glimmer of hope for water shortage
Phokeng village is a mountainous area with high altitudes and lower altitudes, with higher level areas suffering from water shortage more than the lower levels the community of Phokeng has been struggling with a constant availability of running water supply for many years. This prompted the Royal Bafokeng Administration (RBA) to develop a remedy to the problem by constructing boreholes and linking them with local reservoirs, to alleviate or eradicate the water shortage and bring hope to the despondent community.
The village is a mining hosting area and experiences population growth, which creates a demand for accommodation. Many households-built backyard rooms and others are still building rental units to leverage on the demand, thus leading to a shortage of water supply. The lower-lying areas are partially affected as they get temporary water cuts compared to the higher-lying areas, which take months without water. Some community members have boreholes as an alternative, some of the community members have bought water tanks “JOJO tanks” and there are community tanks all filled by RBA water tankers. Rustenburg Local Municipality does not play a role in water supply to this community.
The Royal Bafokeng Administration has developed a plan to solve this problem and is busy with implementation. They have constructed boreholes in strategic areas around the village and connected them through pipes to feed local reservoirs to alleviate or eradicate water shortages within the village. The program is in the construction phase and brings hope to the community.
*Relebogile, a 47-year-old lady is married and lives with her in-laws not very far from her maternal home she says “My mother is in her old age and my brother has a disability and they struggle with water as our area takes time without water supply. There is a JoJo tank at home, but it is empty most of the time because we fill it when there is water in the taps.” She says there is a nearby section that has a water supply, and they use wheelbarrows to fetch water. “My brother cannot fetch water due to his disability, so I have to step in and fetch water for them and go back to my in-laws.” Said *Refilwe. She did not know about the borehole project but welcomed it. She says “That will be a relief for me and the community, we will be like before when taps had running water and life will be easier.
The construction of these boreholes by RBA is a relief to the affected communities, it is a progressive initiative that after completion will bring water to the areas that go for 5 months or more without running water and have to travel to get water. They will get water in their taps.
* Not her real name
