The refurbishment of Vondo Water Scheme in Phiphidi village is causing critical water shortages in the Vhembe district.Vhembe District municipal spokesperson Matidzi Ralushai confirmed that the two-month program, which started last week will cause serious water interruptions to the majority of people in the Thohoyandou area.
“In many areas, people will not get water for two to three days. This will be the case for the next two months as we are busy refurbishing our water schemes that are aging.
“We know this will cause a lot of confusion in communities, who will struggle to get water as Vondo is one of the biggest water schemes in Vhembe.
A similar situation will apply at Albasin Dam, which supplies water to the majority of people in Makhado.
“In Vondo, we are busy replacing valves and pipes. At Albasin, we are supposed to replace the a pump,” said Ralushai.
He added that the refurbishment will in the long-run improve water delivery to communities.
“We are requesting for people to be patient with us as there is nothing we can do except following this process to make sure that they get a good supply of water in future,” says Ralushai.
In areas where there are boreholes, including Mtititi Ralushai said they were facing a serious challenge of vandalism, which included the theft of copper and electric cables.
There is also a serious challenge of illegal electricity connections in the areas of Bungeni and Nzhelele, which is also causing an interruption in water supply to surrounding communities.
Ralushai urged community members to report people responsible for vandalism.
