Residents urge council to drill boreholes

tight rationing regime.
The residents have about five community taps that they share and they are not adequate.
The appeal comes amid reports that the local authority was planning to instal water meters for the residents.
Most people staying in Cowdray Park raised concern over the city council’s lack of consistency in providing water to them, saying the local authority was inconveniencing them.
Residents who spoke to Chronicle said boreholes would make their lives easier and safer as the rationing of water was a threat to their health.
“We are kindly appealing to the local authority or well-wishers to drill boreholes for us as soon as they can. We can no longer afford to rely on water that is provided by the city council,” said Mrs Nothando Mpofu from the suburb.
“We have a few taps which are shared by the whole community and cannot cater for everyone. People are forced to spend several hours, even during the night, fetching water from the taps.”
Mrs Mpofu said water was a basic right, which was supposed to be treated as a matter of urgency to avoid disease outbreaks.
“Water is a basic human right and the council must make sure that residents have adequate water all the time.
“We are worried about our health and we believe that boreholes would be the best alternative source of water and are suitable in high density suburbs,” she said.
Another resident Mr Alex Maphosa said the issue of drilling boreholes was important not only in the rural areas but in urban areas as well.
“The issue of boreholes should be taken seriously because the water cuts are affecting almost everyone in the suburb. Spending just two days without water is not acceptable for us because when the water supplies are restored, people spend nights, waiting for their turn to get water from the few taps that we have.
“It is unfortunate that the city council has been promising to drill boreholes for residents but has not done anything yet. Schoolchildren are forced to fetch water before they go to school. This situation creates less time for them to study and do well in their schoolwork.
“Right now we do not know how much rainfall we are going to receive in the country. If the rains are inadequate, it means more water cuts for us. The city council must make sure we already have water before the dams dry out,” said Mr Maphosa.
Meanwhile, the residents have called on the Government to expedite the handover of the project to the city council to facilitate the provision of water and sewer service.
The much-anticipated handover would see the council servicing the area, which has been facing a number of problems for the past seven years.
The chairperson of the housing scheme, Retired Lieutenant-Colonel Thabani Khumalo, said plans to officially hand over the project to the council were under way as the Government was finalising some issues.
“We are working towards handing over this housing scheme to the city council. It would be bad for the Government to just hand over without proper planning because this may prove to be detrimental,” said Rtd Lt-Col Khumalo.
He said he was aware of the residents’ plight and it would be unwise to do an overnight handover.
“I cannot give you the exact date as to when we are going to officially hand over the project to the council but I can assure the residents that it will be soon.
“We still have to work on finances, equipment and other formalities. Actually we are preparing for the handover,” said Rtd Lt-Col Khumalo.
“People have to remember that the Government wants what is best for them. This project was never meant to bring them pain and suffering.”