04 Jan 2017

A delegation that was tasked to undertake a spot check visit to areas with houseboats in the district and ensure the houseboats are not causing any pollution to the Okavango River and its surroundings has successfully completed the assignment.

This followed a council resolution during a meeting in June that a delegation inspects houseboats at Seronga and Shakawe as there was a concern that some companies might not be complying with the existing acts.

Presenting the report during the full council, the chief public health officer from Department of Environmental Health, Mr Moreki Nthibo explained that the delegation used the available legal provisions for control and management of tourism operations and management of both controlled solid and liquid waste generated by and within the houseboats.

The provisions for compliance by houseboats operators were drawn from the following pieces of legislations; Tourism Act (cap. 42:09); Waste and Management and Pollution Control Act of 1998; Public Health of 2013; Okavango Delta Management Plan and Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 2011.

Mr Nthibo said to satisfy themselves on issues of compliance, they had to carry out some interviews with key personnel responsible for daily operation of the boats, request licenses and evidence of records on disposal of liquid waste and also carried out some physical inspections on the waste disposal facilities and the houseboats.

Three houseboats in Shakawe and one at Seronga were inspected and the delegation reported that all were licensed.

Mr Nthibo reported that in Shakawe, they discovered that the one houseboat use Jojo tanks for storage of sewerage and emptied through pipes which connect to jojo tanks while one does not have jojo tanks, but uses pipes connecting to a drum to convey the sewerage.

The said company also use soak way system for sewage disposal for offices, workers and houses, but the delegation was not happy with the arrangement.

Mr Nthibo said such an arrangement posed danger to the river and a recommendation was made that the operator should stop usage of septic tanks and soak away as they are not allowed by the river banks as per the Okavango Delta Management Plan.

Another recommendation was that pipes must be provided to convey sewerage from the houseboat to the jojo tank to reduce chances of water and ground pollution by use of drums.

In their general recommendations, the delegation stated that houseboats operators must have offices within their areas of operation and where possible, they should put up an on-site sewerage treatment plant.

Land board was also advised to check all plots used by houseboats companies if they have been allocated for such use or if they are for private individuals including docking sites, water rights and blocking of access to the river.

Another recommendation was that the Department of Water Affairs should include houseboats docking sites in its list of sampling points and carry out water quality monitoring on quarterly basis around the houseboats docking sites.

Departments responsible for inspection of houseboats were also recommended to up their game and make quarterly joint inspections of houseboats as well as safari camps and that they must be accompanied by labour officers to check issues of work permits and working conditions. ENDS