12 Sep 2017

Southern District Council chairperson, Mr Alec Seametso says water supply situation has for most of the plan period been challenging due to droughts and minimum to no recharge by underground aquifers. 

Mr Seametso said the situation was resulting in below average supply with some villages experiencing shortages and others marginally supplied.

 Officially opening Southern District Council meeting on Monday in Kanye, Mr Seametso indicated that dilapidated infrastructures were also continuing to be problematic in service delivery where mostly operational efficiency was not achieved due to constant breakdown of plants. 

He said Water Utilities Corporation has embarked on some initiatives to improve the situation, saying in view of Kanye and Moshupa, the management centre was conducting water apportioning in some parts of the village, while spot bowsing was also being carried out to cover the supply gaps although this was not a sustainable and effective option. 

“It should be noted that although the Moshupa dam had reserved water to its capacity from the past rains, the plant had never been operated to augment supply due to failure to achieve the required water quality,” said Mr Seametso. 

He said as such procurement for refurbishing the plant was initiated through quotations, adding that this had not been possible since the value of repairs exceeded the quotations thresh hold and therefore proposals for funding and tendering had been submitted for consideration. 

Concerning private connections, he said Kanye management centre continued to experience backlog in installation due to the limited resources at hand. He said the machineries were always on and off the road such as excavators and small vehicles. 

Mr Seametso indicated that poverty eradication continued to be one of the key government priority areas. 

He therefore, said government continued implementing initiatives aimed at empowering the less privileged and economically disadvantaged members of the community and at the same creating employment. 

The chairperson also said Youth Development Fund (YDF) programme was aimed at empowering young entrepreneurs to positively contribute to the national economic status. He said financial year 2017/18, a total of P14 million has been allocated to the seven constituencies in the Southern District. 

He stated that there was slow uptake of the programme by some settlements, adding that prospective YDF applicants lacked technical skills to venture into viable business, hence low submission despite the high turnover in form issuance. 

Further, Mr Seametso stated that there was non-payment of loans for the existing projects. 

He said lack of operational spaces and high rentals also posed a challenge in the success of the projects. 

He urged relevant officers to employ strategies which would assist in addressing the noted challenges, adding that there was a need for intensive mobilisation of communities at areas with low programme uptake. ENDS