A water shortage caused by the crippling drought has gripped Butterworth forcing residents to use the life-giving liquid sparingly.
Taps in the town, which falls under the Mnquma municipality, have run dry and despite the hardships residents face, it has also seen a new brand of entrepreneurs emerge from the dusty streets.
Nokulunga Sondishe, 53, has taken it upon herself to mind the taxi rank toilets and keep them open to the public.
The facility does not have running water so Sondishe charges R2 for a bucket so that rank users can relieve themselves in it.
She then disposes of the waste in the toilet and uses water she has collected to “flush” it away.
“The water crisis in Butterworth is huge. I may be able to keep these toilets open, but after lunchtime I am forced to close because by then I would have also ran out of water to maintain the cleanliness of the toilets,” she said.
When the Saturday Dispatch visited the rank this week, the previously unemployed Sondishe was having her breakfast inside the women’s toilets. Asked how much she made in a day she replied: “I make R600 a fortnight.”
As a result of the drought that has gripped a large part of the Eastern Cape, the Amathole District Municipality has imposed water restrictions saying it feared dams would dry up completely unless consumers used water more sparingly.
On Thursday the municipality communicated a new water rationing timetable saying the water level in the Xilinxa Dam, which supplies Butterworth, Kotana, Ehlobo and many rural villages, was low.
In August the municipality reduced water supply from approximately 14 megalitres (ML) a day to eight.
“Water is important but people do not realise that until it is too late,” said Sondishe.
While recognising that a regular flow of water would put her out of “work”, she said the hygiene and health water brought for residents was important.
“Everyone that lives in an urban area is dependent on the water supply and that is something that people do not understand until it’s too late,” said Sondishe.
Another water entrepreneur, Mandlekosi Mbuyazwe, is using his bakkie to bring water to the area. He sells 20-litre buckets of clean drinking water to residents from Extension 24 where taps can be dry for periods up to two weeks.
Mbuyazwe said he fetched the water from a communal tap from Zizamele township outside Butterworth. He said for some unknown reason, the tap always had water.
“I charge R20 for a bucket and people buy,” Mbuyazwe said — simthandilef@dispatch.co.za