Dry taps greet Deputy President

By Patrick Makinita

Deputy President Paul Mashatile visiting Zeerust in the North West

Frustrated residents of Dinokana outside Zeerust confronted South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile on Tuesday with an unyielding message: “No water, no dignity.”

At an emotionally charged door to door engagement, residents said they were entering yet another dry season with dry taps, despite repeated government pledges and costly intervention projects that have yet to deliver a sustainable water supply.

“We have children at home who go to sleep without water for cooking or cleaning,” said Rebecca Motshegwa, said.

Another resident Keneilwe Ramasega said: “We rely on water trucks that sometimes don’t come for days. How can we live like this in 2026?”

The residents said their longstanding complaints reflected the  inconsistent and unreliable water provision, including protests that previously ended up in protests major over service delivery failures.

At the heart of Dinokana’s water woes was the infrastructure that failed to get them reliable water. A R106-million “Operation Bulela Metsi” water supply intervention project was launched with great fanfare by provincial authorities, and was meant to upgrade pump stations, pipelines and reservoirs, ultimately providing 30 000 residents with access to water.

But for many residents,  especially in higher-lying areas , those improvements have yet to translate into running water.

The traditional leader of Bahurutshe Ba Ga Moiloa chief, Mosiamiemang Moiloa said the situation was a violation of the resident’s basic human rights.

“Our people fetch water from neighbours, pay for trucked water supplies, or go without. The project must move beyond promises.”

Municipal officials have also pointed to persistent vandalism and cable theft, which has repeatedly crippled pump stations and reservoirs essential to the water system in Dinokana and Lehurutshe villages.

In one recent incident, armed suspects stripped cables from a reservoir pump house, cutting off electricity needed to push water into the community’s pipes.

“Each time the municipality repairs the infrastructure, it gets vandalised again. The people suffer while the police chase criminals,” another resident said.

Asked about these issues during his visit, Mashatile acknowledged the depth of residents’ frustrations but urged them to stay the course with the ruling party, a stance some residents interpreted as political campaigning ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

“I  took an opportunity to visit local chief in Dinokana and allowed them to raise issues that are a challenge to them, generally I found that what the chief raised and other members of the community  are quiet similar, challenges of water, the roads, access to electricity and that some of their transformers were destroyed by the lightening but Eskom is now aware.”

With the issue of water, Mashatile said he will give the report to the Water and Sanitation Minister and see how they can work with Magalies Water board.

“The biggest problem is really reticulation, water is not reaching  communities, so we want  them to sort that out,” said Mashatile.