Another resident, Nosicelo Manku from Mabuyaze township, said in her area now they only get water for an hour a day.

She said the municipality has issued a schedule of times for water, but it was not adhered to.

“I wish you can be here when water comes back, the way we shout and race to the taps. This is not normal and the municipality is dragging its feet finishing the Xonxa dam water project. All we hear is empty promises and that dam was supposed to be finished two years ago,” she said.

About the Xonxa dam, Mqamelo said some components had failed and were being repaired. “We hope that the project will be operational in no time.”

Meanwhile residents in Cofimvaba Bolokodlela village outside Queenstown have been without water for almost a month.

Another Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa, said a pipe supplying water to the area had burst. He said the pipe had been fixed on September 24. But the area still has no water.

Residents said the problem in this village started four months ago when the water supply ran only at night for two hours. Some residents said they used to sleep next to the standpipe taps waiting for clean water.

However, since September 4, taps have been dry. Residents are using dirty water from canals, while some are getting water from a small river in the area.

Resident Nomasiyephi Booi told GroundUp that she walks 45 minutes to fetch water from the nearby river, carrying a 20-litre bucket.

“The water we are getting is not clean but what other choice do we have? We need water to cook and drink,” said Booi.

“I guess this is the thanks we are getting from our government for voting. Even if we had money to buy water, town is very far from here and going to town costs more than R50.

"When we ask we get different answers. Some officials said we are affected by drought, while others said a pipe supplying water to our scheme burst.”



