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DONATED COVID-19 TANK KEPT IN RA’S PLOT

01/06/2020 08:31:00 BY STANLEY KHUMALO

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SIKHUPHE – A community in the lowveld is desperate for clean running water while a water tank donated to assist them is kept at the regional administrator’s home.

The 5 000 litres water tank was donated to the community of Mbalenhle, Sikhuphe, about a month ago and it is yet to benefit the residents.
The water tank was donated by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) to assist the community with the most valuable asset in the era of COVID -19, water.

Mbalenhle is located about 55 kilometres east of Manzini and about 35 kilometres north of Siteki. It is about five kilometres away from the King Mswati III International Airport. The community has about 150 homesteads.
The lack of this resource is glaring such that there is no running water and the community claims that their borehole has been dysfunctional for an extended period of time.

Premises

Meanwhile, a tank requisitioned from the NDMA was set at the premises of the Lubombo Regional Administrator (RA), Themba Msibi. The RA, who is the former Speaker of the 10th Parliament, was recently awarded land, which is more or less three hectares in size.
The land is about three kilometres from the main road and has few neighbours residing next to it. Most of the neighbours to Msibi’s property are yet to construct their homesteads.

The land, which is fenced and has locked gates, has the tank erected within the property in close proximity to piles of river sand, crush stone, and a structure that is still at foundation level.
The tank has a black hose extending from it to the fence where a tap is mounted.

This could be meant to cater for the few passers-by to wash their hands while another hose with a tap hangs from a tree seemingly for use within the property. Above the tap, there is a two-litre container with pink liquid soap presumably for the public to use when washing their hands.
In the 20 minutes spent by this reporter in the vicinity of the property, there was no person who passed by; yet two kilometres away, women were found walking on the dusty road.

One of the women is a local resident, Thandaza Nguni.
She pleaded with the NDMA to assist her community with a water tank as water was a scarce commodity in the area; yet, essential due to the coronavirus.
She said in recent weeks, a team of males was registering names of residents, informing them that they would get a water tank to assist with the supply of clean running water as means by government to fight the coronavirus which requires that people regularly wash their hands with running water and soap.
Nguni said there was a shortage of water in the area such that they shared the source of water with cattle in a local pond (inkelebha).

“We wake up at 5am to fetch water from the pond so that we can have clean water before the livestock messes it up,” she said.
She said the community did not have any facility to wash their hands frequently. She said this was a challenge in the community for many people, mostly when they alighted from public transport from congested towns.
“We just don’t wash hands easily as water is scarce.”

Alternative

The resident said an alternative they had for getting clean water was to pay E400 or E450, so that a tractor could ferry a 5 000-litre water tank to Mbuluzi River where they fill it up.
According to Nguni, if one was broke, the only source of water was to walk to the pond. Supporting her assertion was Thandi Nkambule.
During a visit to the area last Friday, the family of Nkambule was preparing for a funeral. She said for the family to have water for the mourners, they had to hire a tractor to connect water from Mbuluzi River.

“This is expensive and it is not sustainable given the ravaging effects of the pandemic on the economy,” Nkambule said.
Also weighing in was Thulani Matsenjwa. He said there was a challenge within the community with clean running water. He stated that the community needed help from the NDMA as soon as possible as the Lizzie Nkosi-led Ministry of Health promoted that the public regularly washed hands.

“As you can see, there is no water in the area, the little that is available could be a source of germs,” Matsenjwa said.
He said until they were assisted with a water tank, they were at the mercy of God and their ancestors. In vernacular, he said: “Sisindzela umusa waNkulunkulu nemadloti kwanyalo.”

Worth noting is that Siteki is the closest town to Sikhuphe while Manzini is the biggest nearby town. Both towns have positive cases of COVID -19 with the latter being the epicenter.