Zibusiso Dlamini
NTABAZINDUNA villagers in Umguza district have appealed to well-wishers to help revamp their dams which have for years failed to hold enough water causing perennial water challenges for their livestock.
This comes as most dams in the area have already dried up leaving villagers in a fix.
Villagers who spoke to The Zambezi Times said they were forced to drive their livestock for more than 5 kilometres to get to Bhekeni Dam which is the only remaining reliable source of water in the area.
A visit to the dam, however, showed that the dam might dry up before the rainy season begins as it is now overwhelmed covering about three wards.
“We had two dams at Mbeleseni and one at Jabulani, they have all dried up, so we are now left with Bhekeni dam which is a bit far for some. So some have already resorted to using boreholes to pump water for our livestock which is very laborious,” said a villager Mthokozisi Ncube.
Another villager, Dumisani Masiye said they were appealing to well-wishers to help support the community in enlarging the dams in the area.
“We have been mooting the idea of coming together as a community so that we can start enlarging the dam, but we then realized we needed some form of resources like excavators and graders to help dig up the dams. So that has been our major setback, so if someone can help with financial resources or equipment that will go a long way in assisting us as a community,” Masiye said.
Ward 6 Councilor Alexander Mnkandla also appealed for support.
“We have quite a number of small dams but they easily dry up because we don’t have any river that feeds into those dams which means they can’t collect enough water to last the whole season. As it is, most of them are already empty,” said Mnkandla.
He added: “For now we are really having a big challenge because we do not have a catchment area for water. Our appeal is that we get support to revamp those dams so that they can last longer, maybe up to August or September.”
