MBABANE – Vandalism of fencing along the LUSIP Dam canals has led to the death of five children by drowning over the past 20 years at Phumulamcashi.
Community members alleged that apart from the child deaths at Phumulamcashi, a total of 19 people have died in the canals since the dam was commissioned 20 years ago.
The Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) infrastructure, including its dams and canals, was commissioned in stages, with Phase I largely completed around 2010.
It has led to water access for smallholders, while Phase II advanced with preparatory work starting in 2009 and its infrastructure progressing to full operation in subsequent years, significantly transforming agriculture in the Lower Usuthu Basin for Swazi farmers. However, along with the positive developments and the massive development, there is what the residents describe as an unfortunate and sad reality – the death of children.
Two weeks ago, 76-year-old Simon Nyawo buried his 10-year-old great-grandson Nkosephayo Siyaya, who drowned in the canal. “He was in the company of other children and they felt like swimming in the canal to cool their bodies from the hot weather. He drowned and could not swim across. When they called me, he had been retrieved from the water and some people were trying to resuscitate him, in vain,” Nyawo said. Nyawo said though some people started insinuating that his great-grandson had been pushed in the canal, he felt less inclined to believe them because when the body was retrieved, he was naked. “The fact that he was not wearing clothes convinced me that he had jumped in the pool voluntarily,” he said. Nyawo said the canals are about two metres deep and an adult could also drown if not skilled in swimming. He recalled that on the day of the funeral service, a community member addressed the gathering saying that 19 people, including children, had died in the canals since they were built.
“I was inclined to believe him because I heard that an elderly man who was drunk also slipped and drowned, though I do not know whereabout, along the canals.” He said he was also aware that two children died within one family after drowning in the canal. When the Times of Eswatini news team visited the family, they were informed that two children drowned in 2011.
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‘They avoid paying for potable water’
PHUMULAMCASHI – EWADE said some families of Phumulamcashi are reluctant to pay for infrastructure services such as electricity to pump potable water into their homes.
The Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) Chief Executive Officer Doctor Sithole said these parents prefer to send their children to fetch water from the canals, exposing them to danger.
It is true that the drowning problem exists, but the community is really not cooperating.
He said they take advantage of the fact that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy has not yet developed a capacity to run the water facility.
Meanwhile, EWADE Director Commercial Musa Masilela, who is in charge of water and infrastructure services, confirmed that fencing has been vandalised by the residents. He explained how the organisation has sensitised the communities to stay away from the canals through community visitation, radio programmes and other awareness means, but there seems to be no adherence to the warnings.
“We even asked the chiefs to speak to the people to get away from the canals,” he said.
*Full article available in our publication
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