MAHIKENG, North West — The Mahikeng water crisis continues to severely impact the communities of Setlhabaneng and Sebonelo, leaving residents without a reliable drinking water supply more than 30 years into South Africa’s democracy. Despite repeated assurances from local authorities to resolve the infrastructure challenges, families in these North West villages are still forced to rely on unsafe water sources and manual labor to meet their basic daily needs.
Villagers in Setlhabaneng and Sebonelo live in close proximity to the Dunning Dam, yet accessing clean drinking water remains a daily struggle. While some locals purchase water from households equipped with boreholes, the majority are forced to use donkeys to fetch water directly from the dam. For a 57-year-old resident, the lack of basic services makes the promise of democracy feel like an unfulfilled dream.
“It is now 30 years since the inception of democracy, but we are yet to experience it,” she stated. “The councilors of the governing party are here. They can see how we are struggling, but they don’t care.”
In May of this year, the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality assured the community that their water challenges would be resolved. Addressing the situation, a spokesperson for the municipality confirmed that the local water treatment plant was refurbished during 2025 and continues to provide a bulk water supply to the broader community.
However, the municipal spokesperson noted that the village’s two boreholes are currently experiencing technical challenges. “The municipal technical team has been dispatched to assess the situation and implement necessary repairs as a matter of urgency,” the spokesperson added.
For the residents on the ground, these municipal promises remain entirely unfulfilled. The reliance on the local river and dam has led to severe health and social consequences. Locals point out that they are forced to draw water from the exact same sources used by their animals.
“We drink from the same water with livestock. It is the same water we use for laundry, drinking, and bathing our kids. That is why our kids are always sick,” one resident explained, noting that children often miss school because of the water shortages. “We draw this water here from the river. We are going to use it to bathe our kids.”
Local women bear the brunt of this water crisis, often enduring long waits and unsafe conditions. Taps frequently run late at night or remain completely dry in the mornings.
“Many of us are always camping here under the trees to fill our buckets. Sometimes we don’t even get food. Others don’t even get a single drop,” a local woman shared, highlighting the impact on family meals. “Our kids don’t find food after school because we can’t cook without water.”
The reliance on donkey carts and wheelbarrows to fetch water from the fields adds to the physical toll. When taps do flow at night, women are forced to collect water in the dark, raising severe safety concerns.
“When taps have water at night, we have to go get water in the middle of the night and it’s not safe. What if people kill us here and we stay very far?” she questioned.
As the community prepares for the upcoming elections, residents are eager to cast their votes. However, after decades of broken promises and persistent infrastructure failures, many remain uncertain whether their ballots will finally bring the clean, reliable water they have been waiting for.
