20 Aug 2018

In the periphery of Gumare village, about 20km, lies a dusty isolated settlement called Danega.

Upon arrival, one is encountered by the view of scattered homesteads with small grass-thatched huts, a clear indication of inadequacy of some services.  

The recognised settlement, which has a population of less than 500 people, has been without a permanent water source for the past 25 years.

This means they relied mainly on the rainy season to fetch from streams or travel to nearby villages such as Gumare and Nokaneng to collect water.  

However, the days of misery and dryness have now become a thing of the past as the MP for Ngami, Mr Thato Kwerepe had made sure that a borehole was made at the settlement.

The 15-meter deep borehole, which is said to be capable of pumping 250 litres in 30 minutes is almost complete and people have already started drinking from it.

Addressing Danega populace recently in a kgotla meeting, Mr Kwerepe said water was a necessity, hence he worked tirelessly to have the borehole dug at the settlement.

He said Danega was a recognised settlement, therefore, the inhabitants just like any other Motswana deserved the necessary government services.

Mr Kwerepe promised the residents that he would continue trying to augment the borehole with other means to improve supply at the settlement.

Kgosi Thutego Sarefo of Danega commended the MP for the noble idea, saying that they had been in agony for a long time because of lack of water.

On a different matter, implored his people to desist from being registered in Gumare and Nokaneng during the population census as these resulted in low numbers in Danega.

“I do not know why many of you are being registered as residents of Gumare during population census. That is the reason why developments are slow in this areas, developments are informed by the number of people living in an area. Please next time make sure you are being counted as Danega people, not Gumare or Nokaneng,” said the concerned Sarefo.

He also said it was the number of people that could results in the gazetting of Danega to officially become a village. ENDS