Abstract
Access to sufficient and clean water is one of the biggest concerns regarding human health and dignity in most rural parts of the world. My case study of a semi-rural area, Leeuwfontein, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa also faces this challenge. I set out to explore what the experience and explanations of Leeuwfontein residents are regarding access to water for residential use. I utilised a qualitative research design, collecting data through focus group discussions, formal and informal interview, and participant observation. Despite the immediacy of the need to fulfil people’s human right to water, the current local government in Leeuwfontein continues to fail righting the wrongs of the apartheid government and improving people’s water access. Regarding accessing water, the story is: a kae meetsi? (where is the water?). People’s explanations for this dismal state various from the politicisation of water, changing climate and the need to have financial resources to buy water. Both the local municipality and churches seem influential in how community members explain their access to water.
M.A. (Anthropology)