Communities in the Giyani area could soon be smiling, with heavenly showers filling up the streams and dams. This could only happen if a well-known pastor receives a green light from the municipality to organize a prayer day to pray for rain.

A Limpopo pastor recently challenged Ms Dorris Mathebula, the mayor of the parched Greater Giyani local municipality, that if she gave an instruction for a prayer day, water problems in Giyani would be history.

Pastor Malan Thomas Baloyi of the Intercession Bible Church in Mdabula was reacting to recent media reports that the mayor had appealed for help to ease the acute shortage of water in Giyani. While this is being done, Baloyi said a prayer day should be organized.

He said when this was done, rain would follow just like day follows night. The pastor said the mayor should call for a prayer day in Gi-yani and rain would come.

Baloyi started a prayer service for rain at his church in Mdabula two months ago. He said there would be prayers until the rain season.

He said that when he heard about the problem of water in Giyani, he thought of praying for rain there. “Every year we pray for rain and after we pray for it, rain comes,” he said.

He said his campaign for rain started in 1983. “I had left a church I used to attend and was praying by myself, asking God by myself. It was June and very dry and I heard myself calling for rain. When I woke up, I thought of going to Lombard village. The induna told me he was worried and livestock would perish because there was no rain. I prayed and rain came,” he said.

He said he later went to Siloane outside Giyani and, after praying at a revival, rain came.

He said he was planning to write a book outlining his testimony. “I am not the only one who can pray for rain. Many pastors in Giyani prayed for rain and it came,” he said.

Recently, four Limpopo municipalities have been declared disaster areas because of the persistent water crisis.

Greater Giyani and Greater Letaba in the Mopani area, and the Makhado and Thulamela municipalities in the Vhembe district, have been hit by a water shortage as dams and boreholes run dry.

The taps in communities around Giyani are dry. The Middle Letaba and Nsami dams are fast running out of water. Communities have to rely on boreholes for water.

The spokesperson of the Greater Giyani Municipality, Room Mdaka, said pastors were free to arrange a prayer day. “The government has no problem with all forms of religion. It is a good thing if we pray for rain,” said Mdaka.