We have to collect water from taps before we vote – villager

Some residents in Limpopo had to delay casting their votes on Wednesday as they had to fetch clean water first before communal taps run dry.

Mathathe Maeko, 26, from Buqa village outside Modjadjiskloof in Greater Letaba Municipality spent most of her morning time pushing wheelbarrow carrying two water drums while other voters proceeded to voting stations in the morning.

“I will go and cast my vote later. For now I’m still fetching water because is very scarce here. If I miss water today I will not get any chance to do my laundry,” she said. Maeko said she will go and vote for party that she believes will address the water crisis in her area.

Another resident Regina Maimela stood by the water tap with many empty water drums hoping to fetch some before going to a polling station.

“We have a serious water crisis here, just imagine on a voting day we are here gathered in the streets to fetch water. What is worse is that it has been two years since been subjected to salty water,” she said.

Maimela said government should attend to water and roads in the area.

Mokobo Masetla from Ga-Ramotshinyadi Village who had just cast her vote, said her village is also water scarce. “Lack of water will be the end of us. We are not used to buying water but now we are buying from those who have boreholes in their homes for R2 per 25 litre,” she said.