[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

Imagine going days without proper access to water.

While parts of Cape Town might have had slight water disruptions, at least the City was op it, fixing the issue (we hope) so that it doesn’t persist.

Meanwhile, Rhodes University students and Makhanda residents are fed up with the ongoing water crisis that is keeping parts of Grahamstown as dry as a stone.

Several students are saying that they have to miss lectures because there is no water to shower. Okes are probably chronically dehydrated as well and the kind of watering holes they frequent won’t exactly do the trick.

In April, residents were made to queue with cars and donkey carts to fill their containers at a water tanker provided by Gift of the Givers, which has been trucking water over to communities as the municipality continues to battle the crippling water disruptions.

Well, things have reached a breaking point, with 300 students along with Makhanda residents and civil society movements (namely the Makana Civil Community Coalition and Unemployed People’s Movement) marching to City Hall on Monday to demand that the City find a permanent solution to the water crisis, reported GroundUP:

“Without water how are we going to survive?” asks protesting Rhodes University student https://t.co/8fCrwRjUcy pic.twitter.com/qx4oXBWSX2

— GroundUp (@GroundUp_News) May 8, 2023

The issue is less that the dams are empty and more that the municipal administration is not doing enough, according to Makana Residents Association secretary Tim Bull. He insinuated that not much would change until they have a functioning municipality.

The most recent major setback has been an unresolved blockage at Howiesons Poort, one of the major dams in the area.

Students are not only protesting for water deliveries but also the infrastructure at Rhodes University. @Grocotts please include that too tshomi. https://t.co/Y2bZNzgevW

— Sibongololo 💎. (@dollymemani) May 8, 2023

Student Anazo Makhathini from Durban said she can’t afford to buy water with her NSFAS stipend:

“How are we supposed to buy water with money meant to cover our needs as students? The municipality knows we depend on them. They also benefit from the university because we students boost the economy,” said Makhathini.

Craig Matthews from Cape Town said:

“We are trying to voice our concern over this water crisis in Makhanda. It is the responsibility of the municipality to ensure that we have water. How are we going to survive without water?”

Municipal manager Phumelelo Kate eventually came out on Monday to promise that the municipality would respond to their demands within seven working days.

The clock is ticking and the water is not flowing…

[source:groundup]