Andile Tshona, Communicator at the Department Of Water and Sanitation
Johannesburg - A boy from rural Flagstaff, oblivious to Gautengers’ mannerisms, was about to get another wake-up call among dozens of shocking things he experienced in his new environment.
Doing his first year at Tshwane University of Technology in Soshanguve, he got a baptism of fire on September 1, Spring Day, a few years ago. He was going to a public phone when he was accosted by a mob of animated fellow students. They were carrying buckets of water and screaming “mthele” (pour it on him).
It was then that I realised I was about to become a victim. The water was meant for me. I put on a brave face and warned them not to dare. The first bucket of water fell on me, second, third I lost count. Saturated, ego bruised and violated, I was thinking about how my rights were infringed.
Why do this when water is scarce? We see the celebration in townships, before the eyes of adults who don’t try to stop it, because they do not know the value of water.
As we approach Spring Day, can we desist from this culture? Can we, as parents, discourage our young ones from participating in this? If Covid-19 taught us anything, it is that we should be responsible and protect one another. We must teach our children and relatives to stop wastage. Dams in Gauteng are drying out. The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo are facing acute water challenges.
Enjoy your Spring Day responsibly and don’t be another me.
* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.