Sekhukhune District Municipality’s Struggle with Poverty and New Hope for Clean Water

In 2000, former President Thabo Mbeki declared Sekhukhune District Municipality a poverty-stricken nodal point for development, promising government resources to improve residents’ lives.

However, despite this declaration, residents continue to live below the poverty line, with no visible improvements made. The area is rich in precious stones, but these resources are sold abroad at exorbitant prices, leaving the community in dire poverty.

Recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the R25 billion Tubatse Hydro Power Dam project near De hoop Dam, which aims to bring clean running tap water to hundreds of families in rural Limpopo villages.

The bulk water supply project was completed in August last year in Seokodibeng village, Fetakgomo Tubatse municipality, outside Burgersfort.

Sekhukhune District Executive Mayor Minah Bahula and Fetakgomo Tubatse Municipality Mayor Eddie Maila visited the completed construction site, where Maila promised to maintain the purification plant and build a steel water tank to enhance water storage capacity.

Residents expressed their happiness, with Lucky Lesele, community liaison committee chairman, stating that this is a step towards ending the long-standing water shortage.

The mayors also introduced contractors appointed to drill boreholes for emergency temporary water relief in surrounding villages, including Ga-Riba, Ga-Maisela, and Maakubu. Maila emphasized that this is a temporary solution while seeking a sustainable and everlasting water solution.

Tumelo Molapo, an opposition party councillor and Ga-Riba resident, welcomed the development, citing job opportunities and access to clean water as significant benefits.

After years without clean running tap water, many residents will finally have access to this basic necessity.