17 Jan 2016

Resident of Molapowabojang have called on the government to come up with an elaborate water management plan that will help ease water shortage experienced in the southern part of the country due to frequent North/South water carrier pipe breakages.

They said this during a kgotla meeting addressed by Area MP, Dr Alfred Madigele that alternative water sources for both potable and non-potable water needs to be sought.

One of the residents, Mr Clement Mmope said the use of untreated ground water for industrial purposes needs to be undertaken by the government.

“This will come as a great relief to communities, especially during dry spells,” he said, calling on Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) to consider equipping one of the nearby boreholes, which he said boasts better yields.

The councillor for Molapowabojang West, Mr Basi Gontho decried delays by the Mmathethe Sub-land board to allocate residential plots in Molapowabojang and called on the sub-land board to rectify the anomaly.

For his part, Kgosi Kedirile Letshabo was not amused by development projects that take long to finish without explanation from overseers.

He said the paving of the road leading to the kgotla was one such project that was taking long to finish.

That withstanding, Kgosi Letshabo commended both Pitsonyane and Molapowabojang primary schools for outstanding primary school leaving examinations last year.

Th principal education officer for Kanye Sub-region, Mr Segale Mongale concurred with Kgosi Letshabo, saying the good performance was a result of collaborative efforts by teachers, parents and pupils.

“Share your strategies with others so that they too may improve performance,” he said, expressing worry on dismal performance by Gasita, Lorwana and Segwagwa primary schools, which scored a paltry 16.6, 31 and 25 per cent pass rate respectively.

In response Water Utilities Corporation official, Mr James Moyo said the water situation around greater Gaborone has not changed.

He however said the corporation has managed to fix a problem area that has been the primary cause of frequent breakages on the North/South Carrier and expressed optimism that the problem has finally been solved.

High consumers of water in and around Lobatse among them Botswana Meat Commission, Athlone Hospital, S'brana Mental Institution, Good Hope Senior Secondary School and Nthwalang Junior Secondary School, he said, were the reason Molapowabojang experiences water shortage.

Mr Moyo urged institutions such as clinics and schools to keep storage tanks, which he said would prove handy every time pipes dry up.

He also told residents that the water from the borehole referred to by Mr Mmope has a high concentration of manganese and was therefore not safe for drinking.

“Let me also advice against the equipping of such boreholes, lest people get tempted to consume the contaminated water,” he said.

For his part, Molapowabojang/Mmathethe MP, Dr Alfred Madigele informed residents that the Minister of Transport and Communication has promised to attend to the matter concerning access road that links the village kgotla with the Trans-Kalahari highway.

On other issues, Dr Madigele said the government has acceded to the request to have a maternity wing, an X-Ray lab and an oral health unit at Molapowabojang Clinic.

All these, he said, would come along with accommodation for clinic personnel. The village, he said, would also get five police houses. Ends