• fUTURE
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WomenJro~~out5e_I_~_the~OI'them T~syaaL~ched Jo_
demand an end to · water apartheid ". Thora,a Panel, reports
We want wate r!
Moutse peop le on the march
In MOUlSC. a rur.al1m1I in Nonhml TransvuJ.
ju.sc two and a half houndrive &om
JohanncsburC. black people mug:1c fIJI' every ptt:ciousdropof WI~. Since 1989. Mootse
residents have held many meelincs with gov-
emmenl official to discuss tbe walei' supply problem,
'The MOU lSemunicipalily says il does no!
have money to provide underground water pipes because MOU lSe is such a big area and MOUlSe' S42 village, are 100far away from each other,
The MOUlSC community believes !his is nonsense.
1lle l...o!.Ir,op Dam suppla Wiler10while fannen wholive riChl nex110 us. II ab o suppla waler to LcbowakComo whil::h is much further away from the I.m.kop Dam than ourvillages." said NtwanePodile, a
Moutse residenL
A repon by the Rural Action Comminec: (RAC) says canals which cany water &om the lo!.kopDam.
soulh-east of MoulSC:. go right pas! MOUlSe on theway 10 !he white farms in Groblersdaal and Marble HaJJ in the north-east. Water from the canals is used to water cropson the white farms. A person stand ing on the border between Moutsc and !he white lanus wiUsee brighl creen crops on one side and !he dry, dusty fields of Mootse on !he other,
SPEAK. November 1192 . ' "5
M
• FUTURE
While while farmers have irrigation pipes to water their crops, there are very few tapsin
Moutse. People get water from wells, boreholes and rivers, many of which are drying up because: of the drought.
"We have to get up atfour o'clock in the mom-
ing and walkvery far 10 felch water from a river,"
said Mokgetjsane Ramadumetjsa."The water from the river is nOI always clean bUI we are forced 10
drink iland use: it," she added.
artha Motlamoyane said Moutse people have 10 use the same water over and over
again"to wash our bodies, to water our plantsand
feed the animals. We don't threw water away once irhas beenused, even if it isdirty,' she explained.
Sometimesgovernmen ttruckssupply water to the villages. This water is sometimes sold for as muchas R2.SO for 200 litres. Whenthese trucks do notcome,familiesgo without water.
The water situation in Moutse became so bad
Ihat the Rural Women' s Movementorganised a protest march on 24 October 1992. More than a thousand people, mainly women, marched from
Tambo Square Stadium to the offices of the
Transvaal Provincial Administration (TPA). where they handed over their demands. The Sill kilometre march took the m more tha n two hours in the hOI,
blazing sun.
Mourse resident Martha Motlamoyane said:
"Women and men came from allover MOUlSe to
join in the march. Some left their homes early this morning - even before the sun came up - 10 be here: ' She said the drou ght had united the people against the government.
Mokgetjsane Ramadurnetjsa said: "We are marching because for three years we have been asking for water taps and elec trici ty for all the
villages."
Motlam oyane told SPE AK why there were more wome n than men at the march.
"Women live here (in rural areas) while men
work in the cities.
"We are the ones who have 10 look after the
ch ildren, land, animals and everything else; ' said Morlamoyane.
Lydia Kompe (better known as Ma'm Lydia) is a member of the RuralWomen's Movement anda
fieldworke r of the Transvaal Rural Action Committee
(TRA C). Kempe.
who led the march,
says the droughthas made the future of rural people appear hopeless.
"People are
leaving their homes and running 10 the cities only 10 find there isno work, food or places to live. Many women are forced to return
10 the rural areas."
She said the burden of the drought weighs
heavily onwomen and children.
"Pregnan t women do nOI have waler, milk and fresh
SPEAK . November 1992. Page 6
• FEA1\F£
Women from MoutH .retired oftheir demandsbelnc Ignored by tile Co..."'....nt
vegetabl es. How can you feed a baby if there: is not enough drinking water?" she asked.
"The education of the children is seriously
affected because children wake up atfour in the morning to gel water. When they get into the classroom, they fall off 10 sleep because they an:
tired. They cannot even gel a drink of water be- cause there are no taps at schools: ' she added.
The water shortage also causes arguments between people who wait at the water points.
"Sometimes people wail forhours and when
they get 10 the water hole, it is dry."
Kompe believes there is a lot of stress among women because they have serious worries all the time.
"They are worried about theirlives and if next
year will be like 1992.
"Even ifrain should fall tomorrow, it would not solve the problem. Many people have beenforced to sell their animals because there is no grass and water to feed them so they have nothing ," ex-
plained Kornpe.
"White fanners bought most of the animals at very low prices."They knew people had no choice but to sell to them."
K
ompe says the government'sdrought relief fund has not been used to help black people in the rural areas."White fanners are given water and money to keep their farms going while we beg for water and electricity.
"We are moreaffected by the drought yet
we are receiving no aidfrom the government"
said Kempe.angrily.
The people of Moutsealsomarchedto demand better education and health facilities,
better treatment for pensioners and more job oppcnunuies. For South Africa as a whole they demanded immediate election of an
interim government and a stop to violence and corruption. 0
SPEAK • November 1992. Page 7
