23 Jan 2019

 Even though plans are afoot to address the water situation in Molepolole,  residents continue to feel the pinch with each day that passes.

On January 21 at a kgotla meeting addressed by the CEO of Water Utilities Cooperation (WUC) Mr Mmetla Masire, residents demanded an update on what the organisation was doing to remedy the situation after the water situation worsened in December.      

Residents complained that so many promises had been made but none of them had been  fulfilled. This has instilled a lot of mistrust in the water utility.

Mr Masire acknowledged that the Molepolole water situation had been a long standing problem exacerbated by the rapid growth of the village.

The situation was further worsened by the drying up of some of the major well fields that had been supplying the village, he said.

He also stated that the rainy season made matters worse by causing frequent power interruptions which ultimately affected the output of the boreholes supplying the village.

Mr Masire nevertheless assured residents that together with Botswana Power Cooperation, they were working on finding a permanent solution to the problem.  

He said mobile generators had since been installed.

Another problem contributing  to water shortage, he said, was the drying up of the Gaotlhobogwe well fields. He said out of 13 boreholes, only eight were in use. He said they have decided to draw water from Malwelwe which unfortunately was not yet complete.

As a temporary measure, Mr Masire said they had procured water tanks to be spread out in the village especially in places experiencing serious water shortage.

He further said WUC had  purchased three extra water bowsers to feed the tanks.

 In addition, he stated that they had resolved to get water from Mmamashia to augment the existing supply.

Commenting on the ongoing projects, Mr Masire said with funding from the P1.5 billion secured from the World Bank, about five to six boreholes were going to be connected to supply water to Molepolole adding that the project had already started.

The Mmamashia/Molepolole project had also been initiated as well as rehabilitation infrastructure while funding had been secured for the sewage pipeline. 

All the projects, he said, were promising although they would take some time to be completed.

He said the new date for Thamaga to be connected to the North South carrier was July this year which meant about 20 per cent of the supply would be diverted to Molepolole to improve the situation there.

Responding to Mr Masire’s remarks, MP for Molepolole South Mr Tlamelo Mmatli said projects involving World Bank  funding never took off saying frequent power interruptions that affected water supply were never addressed.  

Pointing out that Molepolole was a very big village, he said water supply from boreholes was not a sustainable solution.

Mr Alex Nkokonyane of the Give Us Water Campaign said there were too many delays in the Molepolole water situation. 

He complained that on many occasions, authorities were never consistent with facts concerning the water situation in Molepolole.

 Mr Nkokonyane requested that Mmamarobole and Ratotoboro boreholes be connected to the infrastructure and supply Molepolole because the boreholes had a lot of water. 

He also complained that WUC took a long time to fix leakages.

Mr Thuba Koontse said it had been reported that WUC used substandard water pipes. 

He said the water consumed in Molepolole was of poor quality. 

Mr Koontse further wanted to know if there was any research done about the possibility of constructing a dam in Kweneng.

Other residents expressed concern over high water bills and the safety of water supplied from tanks. ENDS