As the Springboks were parading through the streets of Tshwane with their Webb Ellis trophy on Thursday, some residents of Hammanskraal bemoaned that the Rugby World Cup win would not bring them water.
They were not in the mood for celebration. When Tshwane Municipality posted celebratory pictures of the parade on its social media pages, residents had mixed reactions.
Malolo Nozipho Mavuso said: “Don’t tell us about die Bokke. They have water. Rather tell us when
are you fixing the water crisis in
Hammanskraal. You should be ashamed, admin.”
Francois Ferns asked: “Why did you not cancel the parade and use the money to take water to the residents of Hammanskraal?”
However, others like Arpos Phaswane accused those complaining about the celebrations of being permanent whiners.
“What is water crisis? What is Hammanskraal re bua ka (we are
talking about) rugby cup le bizzy nywerenywere fix this le satisfie ka eng mara lena batho ba mzasi (and you are busy complaining, fix this, fix that. What ever satisfies you people of South Africa?)”
While water was restored in parts of Hammanskraal on Thursday, there was no clear indication given by both the municipality and national government regarding when a permanent solution to the crisis would be found.
Residents now have to rely on water tankers in order to access one of their basic human rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.