21 Mar 2018

North West District Council will make a request for a special funding with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for the design and construction  of Maun Storm Water Drainage System to alleviate the flooding situation.

 

Council chairperson, Mr Duncan Enga said Maun was situated in a flood plain area, which makes storm water flooding a major risk to human life and loss of property; hence the need to construct the system as a long term solution.

 

He said at a full council meeting recently that the recent torrential rains, which covered the northern part of Botswana resulted in some villages in the district experiencing floods especially Maun.

 

He said the heavy rains affected a lot of people in Maun adding that a total of 40 households with 256 individuals were affected and eleven households were assisted with food rations while six were aided with tents.

 

Mr Enga highlighted that no evacuations were done as families opted to stay temporarily with extended family members. 

 

He mentioned that some government facilities such as schools were also affected adding that some public officers could not go not work because their houses were flooded.

 

“Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital was also affected especially the female surgical ward and intensive care unit with leaking roofs. 

 

It was reported that a contractor had been identified to attend to the leakages,” he said. 

 

In addition, Mr Enga observed that the roads were not spared as internal roads developed potholes.

 

However, he said as a short measure,  pothole patching was being carried out.

 

Meanwhile, council chairperson, was worried about livestock 

 

which was roaming in business centres in some major villages such as Maun, Gumare and Shakawe.He said the animals posed a threat to the people’s lives on the roads.

 

Therefore, he pleaded with village leaders and farmers committees to come up with ways on how best to address the situation.

 

Last year, Mr Enga said they tried to enforce the Livestock Control Bye Laws in Maun by building kraals near the landfill and implementation was constrained by lack of sustainable budget, which was worsened by a large number of cattle, which was captured.

 

The chairperson also informed councillors that environment upkeep was still a challenge in the district particularly littering of the streets, leisure areas and yards. The council, he said would like to strengthen community engagement strategies whereby the village leadership played a major role in the upkeep of their village cleanliness.

 

He said their engagement and collaborative efforts with the Village Extension Teams must be at the forefront in planning and executing the village cleanliness activities as per their monthly and annual plans.

 

Mr Enga further revealed that the council would continue to provide necessary resources for collection and disposal of waste at appropriate disposal facilities.

 

“We also encourage different societies and groups interested in clean-up campaign to join hands with the local authority.

 

 As a deterrent approach, council will engage with the law enforcement agencies to charge those who litter. 

The observation is that health education is enough but compliance is low among the community members hence stiffer penalties have to be applied,” he said. ENDS