Water wars boil over in D�Kar
Leinanyana Tsiane | Friday August 22, 2014 15:54
Kuru Development Trust officials found themselves on the back-foot at a Kgotla meeting recently, when enraged D’Kar residents demanded answers on why acute water shortages were persisting in their area despite assurances of relief.
Almost exclusively inhabited by Basarwa of the Kuru tribe, D’Kar is a village in Gantsi of about 1,000 residents which began as a farm then developed into a church-run settlement.
Located in the middle of the desert, D’Kar has struggled to provide clean and reliable water over the years, with its growing population dependent on a diesel-fuelled borehole engine and an incomplete pipeline network.
Last weekend’s Kgotla meeting erupted in chaos as strife-worn residents questioned what the Kuru Development Trust (KDT) was doing to address the water issue. The KDT was established in the 1980s to create greater autonomy, capacity and social advancement for Basarwa through avenues such as arts and cultural tourism. With questions heating up, KDT coordinator, Mangana Mangana informed the meeting that the Trust had found tenants for some of its houses with the rent being used to buy diesel for the borehole engine’s pump.
“As the KDT we are aware that there is a serious shortage of water in D’Kar and we have come up with some measures to alleviate it, such as the rentals from the tenants we have secured,” he said.
“You will recall that KDT houses were left vacant by workers who left us because our funds were low and we could not afford to pay them.” However the KDT coordinator’s assurances did little to assuage residents, who demanded exact figures of the rental incomes and diesel purchases.
One resident in particular, James Camm, demanded that Mangana provide details on the income and expenditure, leading to a verbal back and forth which was eventually resolved by Chief April Montshosi who ordered the KDT man to disclose the amounts. “In June we got P6,600 from the rentals against the P4,200 we use monthly to buy diesel to pump the engine at the borehole,” Mangana disclosed.
“In July we received P6,050 from rentals and in August we are expecting P8,000.”
The finances partially resolved, the Kgotla meeting was against set astir by revelations that a P20,000 donation by the Swedish Embassy for the completion of pipelines was channeled to another cause. The US Embassy had initially provided P20,000 for the digging of trenches for the pipelines which was later found to be insufficient.
KDT Board Chairperson Johannes Aaron explained the diversion.
“We used the money to pay the workers who were digging the trenches because we understood their need to put food on the table for their families,” he said.
However, residents again rose up in anger saying the workers digging the trenches were volunteers and did not require remuneration. “You are responsible for this water shortage because if you had used the funds for their original purpose, we would be enjoying adequate supplies by now,” fumed one resident. Outspoken resident, Camm was even more succinct.
“I don’t believe the money was used for the construction of the pipeline,” he said.
“That statement is not a true reflection. If the board is unable to execute their duties diligently, they should come out clean and inform the D’Kar community so that others can come up with other plans to address the water shortage.”
Mangana urged residents to avoid mudslinging and instead “try to help us come with a solution to address the current problem”. “The water shortage does not only affect the board. The people are equally affected.”