Lack of water gives community the blues

The community of Mataffin in the shadows of the impressive Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga say running tap water is a dream they've lost hope will ever come true.

While the R1.2bn 2010 World Cup stadium has water, Mataffin residents rely on water tankers provided by the City of Mbombela once a week. 

However, residents in some sections of the area said they had not seen a drop of water for three weeks as they were told the tankers have broken down. 

Those who can afford to have bought water tanks for their homes, which they fill through purchases from water traders.  

"It is hard when you don't have water. We last had water delivered three weeks ago. If the tanker did not come, one has to ask for a bucket of water from those who have tanks at their houses," said resident Nkosinathi Mashaba. 

"People get tired [of always giving water to others]. When you have been given water, you decide if you cook with it or you bath or wash your clothes. So, first thing is cooking and the rest shall follow."

Hairdresser and salon owner Petros Chavane said he is forced to turn away customers sometimes. "It's very bad," Chavane said.

The community was connected to the power grid only in 2020.

Mbombela municipal spokesperson Chawe Jele said Mataffin's sparse development was due to the settlement not being planned in the first place. He said people started allocating themselves pieces of land in 2010. Before that, there were a few houses occupied by farm workers, Jele said, confirming that Mataffin was not in the municipality's integrated development plan. 

"When there's a decision for a human settlement, the municipality needs to be involved to service the area first and plan which side is for a school, clinics and recreational places, etc. But in Mataffin, especially new stands, those people allocated stands for themselves [and were] selling them, so as the municipality we had to follow behind from already built houses without water and electricity or other services.

"We tried to place them in our budget; we started with electricity and connected them [to the grid] as they were stealing power. They [now] have better roads.

"Now, there are pipes being connected to provide clean water and, as a temporary plan, we have hired water tankers," Jele said. 

He blamed illegal connections for the lack of running water from communal taps.