Kokosi's daily water struggle

QUEUES: TAPS RUN DRY FOR A MONTH AS MERAFONG CITY OWES RANDS WATER R1.4 BILLION >>> Municipality is also said to owe Eskom R1.6 billion in electricity charges.

- Masoka Dube

ANGER. Kokosi township resident Emma Sizani and community leader Elliot Mthembu after collecting water.

Residents of Kokosi in Merafong on the West Rand, Gauteng run the risk of contracting waterborne diseases if they continue to use water they collect from dirty drains on the roadside and other filthy water sources.

Community members interviewed by The Citizen have confirmed that in the past month, there has been no water in their taps.

During a recent council meeting in the Merafong City municipality, it emerged that the municipality owed Rand Water a whopping R1.4 billion, while it also owes R1.6 billion to Eskom.

When The Citizen arrived in the area, several people were collecting water from drains on the roadside, while others were queuing for water dripping from a small black pipe in the ground.

One of the affected residents, Charles Mbulawa, had a 25-litre container in his wheelbarrow full of water that he got from the slow dripping pipe.

Mbulawa also had six empty cold drink bottles. He said: "I decided not to use the bottles because I wanted other people to also get the water as it was coming out slowly.