18 Jun 2018

About 198 pre-paid standpipes were installed in the Nkange Constituency during the 2012/13  financial year. Answering a question in Parliament, assistant Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr tumeleng Moipisi said out of the 198 standpipes, only 53 were functional while the remaining 145 were not functional. He said eight standpipes had been decommissioned in Matobo following migration to pre-paid and other villages continued to use conventional standpipes. Mr Moipisi said water supply to all villages in the Nkange constituency was adequate as supply versus demand was 3 150 against 2 470m3/day safe for instances of infrastructural failures or power supply interruptions. As a long term measure for water security in the constituency,  Mr Moipisi said government had allocated P250 million from funding secured from the World Bank Group to implement the Northeast District. He said it would also cater for the Tutume Sub-district water supply project, which would upgrade the Ntimbale Dam Water Supply infrastructure to meet water demand for Nkange, Tati West, Tati East and some of the Shashe West constituency villiages. Nkange Member of Parliament Mr Edwin Batshu had asked the minister how many prepaid standpipes had been installed in the Nkange Constituency to date, how many were operational and  whether he was aware of the serious water shortage in the constituency; if so, what remedial action would be put in place.ENDS