15 Aug 2016

The Vice President Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi says the unit cost by government since Water Utilities Corporation took over portable water supply and waste water management throughout the country has increased substantially.

The Vice-President, who is also MP for Moshupa/Manyana said during briefing by Moshupa Sub council district development committee meeting on August 15 that ever since transition, government has had to subsidise WUC with well over P1 billion annually.

“The unit costs since you took over is exorbitant,” he said and called on the corporation not only to improve its operations but to devise ways to cut down on operational costs.

His misgivings follows report to the effect that for a long time now Pitseng does not have a water operator; something that has left the village in dire water shortage.

Water Utilities Corporation official, Mr Matthews Sebina had in response told the meeting that in the absence of the operator, the corporation has assigned the task to another plant operator on a  temporarily basis who is not based in Pitseng; something that did not sit well with Mr Masisi.

Mr Masisi said the corporation should have an operator based in Pitseng to do away with the problem once and for all.

“You should inspire confidence in us as leadership that you can be effective and I expect you to have done something about this by Friday. You should have casual laborers as a contingency on this matter,” he said.

According to the Vice President, there is growing discontent by Batswana who point accusing fingers at WUC for its inefficiency, something he said calls on the corporation to re-engineer its processes for purposes of efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Meanwhile, senior district officer- development, Mr Mpho Leboane told the meeting that the North-South Carrier II that connects Moshupa was 47 per cent complete.

The project, he said has not progressed as per schedule due to an array of challenges among them; delay in acquisition of land particularly within the Kweneng areas, where the pipeline traverses.

On the Output Performance Based Roads Contract (OPRC), whose aim is to rehabilitate existing road network, Mr Leboane noted the project has been delayed as the first output which was expected to have been delivered in November 2015 was only delivered in April this year.

He cited contractual disputes between the contractor and the Sub contractor as the primary cause of the delay.

“To rectify the anormally, the contractor was advised to mobilise his own plant and equipment as they had stipulated in the bid that they had resources and capacity to undertake the project, rather than depending solely on sub-contractors,” he said.

On the envisaged Moshupa Primary Hospital, which will adopt the design of Shakawe Primary Hospital, Mr Leboane impressed upon the meeting that design briefs have been submitted and the scope of works confirmed.

He said also that the upgrading of Moshupa Health Post, funded up to P7.2 million is on-going and that an architect who will assist in the project has been appointed.

Mr Leboane noted also that Moshupa Dental Clinic was awaiting installation of an X-Ray machine. He said once the inspection, to be conducted by the Bio-Medical Engineering  is completed, the dental clinic will be up and running. ENDS