Hammanskraal residents want new government to take care of water challenges

Hammanskraal voters who went to cast their votes on Wednesday hope that the incoming government will take care of their water challenges after a cholera outbreak killed 28 people in the area last year May

Reni Malatji, 47, has pleaded with the leaders of the 7th administration  to refurbish the Rooiwal water waste plant in Hammanskraal.

Five years ago, the SA Human Rights Commission declared tap water in Hammanskraal unfit for human consumption, and since then residents of the Tshwane township are still subjected to buying water or rely on 54 tankers for drinking water which Tshwane spends R6m per month.

“We hope the incoming government does not fail us when it comes to water.  They should ensure that they provide clean water; we hope they end the bucket system so that we can have tap water.”

“We hope they put an end to loadshedding. We hope they stop nepotism, hire friends and family and create job opportunities for us. However, we don’t have hope; we just voted,” she said.

Another resident, Pauline Mbetse, 58, shared the same sentiment:

“Our tap water is dirty; the water smells bad. What about those who cannot afford to buy water? We are forced to buy water yet we voted for change,” she said.

For first-time voter 21-year-old Kopano Mojapelo, he would like to see the next administration being led by a coalition government and not just one party.

After casting his vote,  Mojapelo said he felt anxious but excited as he hopes his vote will go towards creating a coalition government.

“This is the closest it could have been; it’s reality, [to the feeling of 1994] and it’s here. I am happy to have voted and I want a coalition government so that it can address the issue of water and electricity.

“We have been having a water crisis for quite a while now, and we also did not have electricity in the morning,” he said.

Mojapelo also raised concerns about his friends who did not register to vote.

“I am doing my second year at Rosebank (College) and my friends have been telling me that they didn’t register to vote.

“What I have made out of this is that young people don’t care,” he said.