Hundreds of residents who are forced to walk long distances to access water say poor service delivery remains a challenge in Joe Slovo informal settlement in Brandfort, about 60km outside Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa. The New Age reports that the area has been struggling with a lack of proper access to water for more than five years now.
An employee at a day care centre, Alinah Moremi, said life without water was really difficult for them. She said being involved with young children without water is even more complicated. Moremi said young children with basic health problems were being turned away from local clinics as the water crisis continued.
“We do not understand why we have to travel long distances to get water. We have been promised on several occasions that water would be available but till today, there is no indication that we would get running clean water soon, we have lost hope,” she said.
“We struggle with basic things like cooking and washing, this is really unacceptable,” 73-year-old Josephine Seshoba, of Ithobaleng Township, said. “I cannot travel long distances to get water because I’m old now,” she said.
A municipal spokesperson said the municipality has set aside R82m to install bulk raw water pipeline that is aimed at addressing water shortage in Brandfort. He admitted that residents are struggling without water but said the municipality had since put a contingency plan like providing water tanks periodically to the residents.
Source: http://thenewage.co.za/141943-1018-53-Water_crises_far_from_over
