08 Nov 2017

Residents of Kachikau in the Chobe District have been assured that water situation in their area would soon be addressed.

Water Utilities Corporation acting manager, Mr Boitumelo Legwaila said when responding to residents’ concerns regarding severe water shortage in the village that they were aware of the situation as it prevailed for some time, adding that they experienced some challenges with some of their equipment and noted that they had managed to fix and install new equipment.

He assured residents that soon the water challenge would be a thing of the past in Kachikau, Satau, Parakarungu, Mabele and Kavimba as they had started pumping water from Kasane to supply the said villages.

The situation, he said, was exacerbated by the fact that they borrowed neighbouring districts their bowsers, but stated that the Chobe District Council came to their rescue and managed to supply the affected villages through bowsing.

Mr Legwaila explained that Parakarungu was supplied by a pipe from Kasane, which means if it experiences problems, it affects all villages along the road to Parakarungu.

However, he apologised to residents for failing to inform them about the problem on time.

Further, he pointed out that Chobe was one of the districts which did not have water challenges and told residents that they hoped the situation would improve for the better.

He encouraged residents to conserve and use water sparingly ‘as it is a finite resource’.

Mr Legwaila said they should not leave the tap running when washing or brushing teeth as that was a waste.

In the gardens, he said residents could use waste water or collect rain water instead of potable water.

Earlier on, residents of Parakarungu and Kachikau complained that they stayed for weeks without water and that the situation had also affected health services.

They revealed that water was a basic commodity and essential to a healthy lifestyle.

Residents noted that they were unable to venture into backyard gardening because of water shortage. ENDS