Water For Justice

MAKHOARANE A10 COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Lesotho is in a transitional stage moving from central government agencies providing services towards local governments providing those services. It is almost three years since the inception of the community councils in Lesotho. Three years down the line, the democracy and human rights office held public hearings throughout the Makhoarane A10 community council not only to take stock of the needs of the people, but also to advocate for service delivery for local councils in order to make them more responsive to local needs. Decentralisation through the formation of local councils carries with it high expectations of improvements in service delivery. The local councils are vested with authority within their limits over among others control and administration of al matters pertaining to control of land allocation, natural resources, water supply, grazing control, control of building permits, public health, physical planning.

Effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of these services among others depends on many factors such as availability of funds to undertake the activities, willingness to form partnerships with local communities, willingness of the civil society organizations and the private sector to meet the challenges, and above all, availability of resources to implement plans. The performance of all these functions require physical infrastructure in the form of offices, stationery, computers etc. The Makhoarane Community council has secured such physical infrastructure in rented offices, but what is evident is the lagging service delivery component. In the public hearings it emerged that the people are desperate for water for basic domestic purposes. Despite the fact that the country exports water to South Africa, access to clean drinking water is still a major problem in the rural areas of Lesotho. In some areas within Makhoarane, people have to walk for long distances then stand in long queues at public stand pipes to get water, in other areas people continue to use unclean water from streams where the drink with animals.

Another problem identified is the non existence of electricity. Energy is crucial in lives and livelihoods because it enables people to carry out their work. Adequate access to energy is they key to development so imperative in this area. The health situation is also worsening in the area where men have to carry the sick and including pregnant women for long distances on horseback or on makeshift beds to health centres in Morija or Matsieng. The men in these areas have become midwives as it has become a norm to give birth in the wilderness. Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. The denial of ecudation harms the cause of democracy and social progress and by extension international peace and security. There are no schools for children to attend. In some areas within Makhoarane, children have to walk for more than ten kilometers everyday to reach schools. The situation is worse during the rainy season because they have to walk for long distances and cross rivers, in which case it is almost impossible to reach school in the rain.

The role of TRC is to teach the communities about the roles of the local councils. This goes beyond mere awareness rising but deeper into holding the community councils accountable to the people. TRC is taking a deeper involvement in the whole process whereby the councilors are taken back to the people to account for the non implementation of roles. TRC is on a mission to liaise with the different service providers to join hands with the local councils to reach the communities. TRC is also promoting dialogue between the community councils and the communities so that the communities take active responsibility of their own development.