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To: Cllr Mtsweni Nomsa Sanny, Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality's Executive Mayor.

Provide Matjhiding village residents with safe water.

Image: anonymous/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0/ text added
[Campaign Update]: News 24 wrote an article and cited our petition, read about it here https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/watch-too-much-fluoride-how-villages-hard-water-stole-childrens-smiles-20250614-1131


- We want Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality to immediately supply the residents of Matjhiding village with enough clean water by sending water tank trucks to the village and also provide them with bottled water.

- We demand that Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality provide the Matjhiding village residents with water filters and come up with other ways it can use to reduce fluoride in the water as a short term solution.

- Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality must also sent a Water Process Controller or a Water Quality Officer to the Matjhiding village to test water samples regularly and ensure it is safe to consume.

- The municipality must urgently organise a public meeting with the residents of Matjhiding village within the next month to outline initial steps towards building a permanent water treatment plant, the municipal officials must start by determining the best location to build a plant.

- The municipality must help the residents whose teeth are damaged by partnering with local public clinics and local dental health facilities to provide the residents of Matjhiding village with free dental checkups and solutions to restore their smiles and confidence.

- The Municipality must also commit to publicly announcing it's plans to solve these issues and reveal deadlines aswell.

- The Municipality should let the public know the progress it made on a monthly basis.

Why is this important?


City Press recently reported that the teeth of children in Matjhiding village have been ruined because of fluoride from the water they drink. It's easy to see badly affected teeth, but what about their overall bone health? Because excessive fluoride is bad for bone health too, that's according to European Journal of Public Health (EUPHA).

The health of the residents of Matjhiding village is badly affected, especially the children's dental health. According researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and China Medical University, water with too much fluoride is not only bad for the teeth but can lead to decreased intelligence in children. 

American Cancer Society reported that consuming high levels of fluoride in water for a long time can lead to pain, weak bones and bone fractures in adults.

According to the Fluoride Action Network, too much fluoride in drinking water is more harmful to children who don’t get enough nutritious food. This put kids in rural areas at higher risk, as many families there are struggling with malnutrition. The Daily Maverick recently reported that 155 children in South Africa have died from malnutrition just this year.

By signing this petition we can get Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality to prioritise the health of Matjhiding village residents and save their lives by providing them with clean, safe water.

 

[1] Too much fluoride: How village’s hard water stole children’s smiles, Sipho Mabena for City Press, 15 June 2025.https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/watch-too-much-fluoride-how-villages-hard-water-stole-childrens-smiles-20250614-1131 

[2] Nutrient Deficiencies Enhance Fluoride Toxicity, Jay Sanders for Fluoride Action Network, 31 March 2012 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/#h16. 

[3] Hip Fractures In Elderly A Leading Cause of Disability and Death, Fluoride Action Network, 9 December 2022. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/#h16. 

[4] SA’s malnutrition ‘tragedy’ — death of 155 children this year alone sparks calls for urgent state action, Naledi Sikhakhane for Daily Maverick, 20 May 2025.https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-20-malnutrition-tragedy-155-sa-children-have-died-this-year-alone/ 

[5] Impact of Fluoride on neurological development in children, Harvard School of public health, 25 July 2012. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/fluoride-childrens-health-grandjean-choi/ 

How it will be delivered

Through social media platforms

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Updates

2025-11-25 09:45:09 +0200

Update: Hi, we have an update about our Matjhiding campaign. We sent an email to the portfolio committee of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affaires and reported that Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality is unreachable. This matter has also been published on Highveld Chronicles(a newspaper), shining more light on this issue is important. Let's keep sharing the petition until the children of Matshiding get access to safe water, Thank you.

2025-07-16 12:30:53 +0200

Update: We've contacted the Mayor.

Thank you for signing the petition. Today I sent an official email to Cllr Nomsa Sanny Mtsweni, Executive Mayor of Dr JS Moroka Municipality, requesting urgent action based on your support.

The email outlines our community’s demands and calls for an official response and public meeting within a month.

Let’s keep the pressure on by sharing this petition so we can grow our support even more.

Together we can make our voices impossible to ignore ✊🏾.

Rina Lekoloane

2025-07-14 17:22:31 +0200

100 signatures reached

2025-07-14 16:35:57 +0200

50 signatures reached

2025-07-14 16:17:43 +0200

25 signatures reached

2025-07-14 15:57:32 +0200

10 signatures reached