Malefu Shabalala has to pay R100 to get water as her area in Dunusa at Intabazwe township in Harrismith, Free State, has been without water for two weeks.
Community members have often voiced their dissatisfaction by protesting against deteriorating levels of service delivery in the area.
The residents no longer want to be under Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality as they believe service delivery is reserved for the people of Phuthaditjhaba.
Shabalala, 38, who shares a mud house with her siblings, said she was disappointed as people continued to vote for the ANC despite the fact that the party has failed them.
“In this area there is no electricity or water. They used to bring water trucks but we have not seen them in the past two weeks. We are now forced to hire cars and pay R100 to get water,” she said.
Families at Dunusa still cook with primus or coal stoves. At night they use paraffin lamps or candles. The road leading to the area is full of potholes, making it difficult for motorists to drive.
“My six-year-old child has never watched TV because as things stand it’s no use to buy one. We are tired of empty promises and I had hoped that residents will vote for another party and not the ANC. But the ANC has been retained and it is very frustrating because our problems will never be solved,” she said.
Mothusi Tladi, 28, said they were disappointed that the ANC had retained the ward.
“We are not satisfied at all, there is no development in this area. I can’t remember when last did they maintain our roads which are now full of potholes,” he said.
Nkululeko Zwane, 27, said service delivery protests will be part of their daily lives.
“Rubbish is not being collected in this township. We were promised jobs by the ANC government because they wanted our votes but we are still unemployed. The crime rate is high in this area because all these street lights you see are not working. We feel like the forgotten nation who are only remembered a few months before the elections,” Zwane said.
It was not only community members who were disappointed by how people voted. A group called Water Heroes said they were also disappointed. The group came together in 2019 when the taps in Harrismith ran dry for six months.
They managed to fix public infrastructure and brought water to the people.
Sam Twala, leader of the group, said they were sure that the people would not vote the same way again.
“Our organisation started during a difficult time when the area was without water for six months. Even the name Water Heroes was suggested by community members after we helped them with their water crisis,” Twala said.
They have not only provided water for residents but have also assisted in reducing electricity outage.
"Given the platform to be part of council we were going to bring in a lot of positive changes in this area. At the moment there is not much we can do as we are being arrested for tampering with infrastructure when we are trying to fix it. This community needs everyone to be on board not just political ideas," he said.
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