By Teboho Serutla
Communities of Ha Tṧupane in Mafeteng have joined the increasing list of disillusioned communities that are frustrated with what they call ‘the ministry of water’s empty promises to solve their water supply challenges’.
As if that is not enough, they have also fired a broadside at private contractors that the authorities had claimed to have engaged to undertake the task of installing taps in their villages.
The deputy minister of water, Lepota Sekola, visited Tṧupane in July to launch water supply projects and introduce the contractors who will be implementing the projects.
According to Qibing No7 councilor Motlatsi Khakhane, six villages – Ha Tjeka, Ha Khakhane, Ha Lipitso, Ha Monaheng, Rapoulo and Ha Nkoko – were initially identified to benefit from the project by a working committee, but now it turns out that only three villages will actually benefit.
In addition, the date of completion of the projects has since changed this December as initially promised, due to lack of commitment and sense of urgency on the part of the contractors who do not show up for work on some days.
Although he could not reveal the exact amount, he said all the communities which are now being left out in the cold contributed money towards water supply projects in their respective villages. As a result, they feel hard done by, especially since the Rural Water Supply (RWS) department is very much aware of the arrangement.
“Although the ministry mentioned that six villages would be covered under the project, the contractor’s map shows only three.
“I also called the Member of Parliament for the Qalabane constituency, Motlalentoa Letsosa, in connection with this and he said he was informed by the deputy minister of water that the project is designed to cater for only 200 people, contrary to what we were initially made to believe, that all the six villages here would be covered.
“I am due to meet with Rural Water Supply this Thursday to get to the bottom of this and, hopefully, find a solution that will benefit all of us”.
Sekola and his principal, Nkaku Kabi, have been crisscrossing the country since July this year, either officially unveiling new water supply projects or promising new ones where none existed.
They first came under fire for failing to deliver on their promises in August when the Khafung, community at Ha Mamathe in the Berea district, expressed disappointment in the ministry of water’s ‘strategies’ to address the challenges of water supply that they have been facing for years.
The community had hoped that the minister would come up with a different strategy on how best to go about the challenges.
The community responded with disdain to the deputy minister of water Lepota Sekola when he addressed the community during his visit; they complained that the ministry continues to fail to solve the problem of water in their villages as ministers keep coming with the same strategy which does not seem to be working for them.
One of the community members, Teboho Ramapeane, said they had expected the ministry to install pipelines from the Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) branch, in Teyateyaneng, close to their communities so that they will be able to pay for tap fittings at their homes.
“They shouldn’t work on sources that might be affected by the drought, like they did in the past.
“Apart from the water that is delivered to our villages by tankers, the water we get from our main sources has a repulsive taste and contains too much fluoride which stains teeth,” Ramapeane said.
The chief of Ha ‘Mamathe, Hlasa Liau Bale, said they have struggled to access water since the beginning of 2020 and the water sources they rely on are about 7km from their community.
A representative of the local councillors, Thabo ‘Mota, added that water distributed by tankers and is not enough as they need running water on a daily basis.
The deputy minister together and officials from the ministry had visited Ha ‘Mamathe to launch an initiative to fix water taps at Khafung and Ha ‘Mamathe, as well as to introduce two contractors who will be fixing damaged and blocked taps.
Two weeks ago, members of the Ha Ramorakane community in Maseru said they had lost any semblance of trust they may have had in the minister of water after his promise to address their water supply problems turned out to be nothing but a mirage.
The community have had no access to modern water supply systems since the 1970s, and the few taps in the village have over the years fallen victim to vandalism resulting from inter-village conflicts. Members of the neighbouring Qeme and Ha Hlalele communities had vandalized pipes distributing water to Ha Ramorakane, and stuffed them with garbage. This meant water could no longer run to their taps.
Kabi and his deputy Lepota Sekola visited the village in August, where they told the people his that ministry of water would respond to their crisis of water shortage as soon as possible.
This was shortly followed by the local water committee compiling lists of households that do not have access to water, to enable the Rural Water Supply department to effectively plan its water supply projects.
However, four months down the line, the community is still parched as there is no sign of water connection in the village. For instance, in October, the community went three weeks without water from all their water sources.
A disappointed Chief Sekhofa Ramorakane had a mouthful to say: “These government people cannot be trusted with anything. They only ever come to us when they campaign for votes and then disappear right after. I say this because, the minister of water and his deputy came to our village and promised to give us water but up until this day, we are still in dire need of water.”
His sentiments were echoed by local community councilor Klaas Bosman, who said he was worried about the well-being of the people because government deployees do not seem to take issues that affect the people, seriously.
“I had hoped that after the recent exercise of collecting data of families residing in the village, we would see progress or any sign that points in that direction. But it was no to be. I can’t say I am surprised though, because the order came from the ministry and there is no specific person to hold to it.
“We completed the exercise and submitted all the data to the ministry. The people of Ha Ramorakane are not happy that they will be spending Christmas the same way as past years.”
