02 Dec 2019

Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services is aware of the water supply shortage in Tati-West constituency affecting particularly Moroka, Ramokgwebana and Jackalas 1. 

Mr Kefentse Mzwinila stated that the main challenge with water supply in the area was due to inadequacy of primary water supply infrastructure that supplied the area, which included but not limited to capacity limitations of the Masingwaneng pump station.

“The pump station can only discharge 7.2 megalitres per day as opposed to the 14 megalitres per day which is available from the Masingwaneng treatment plant production. 

The pipeline configuration is a challenge at it restricts equitable distribution to all beneficiary villages resulting in water supply imbalance for the area,” he saidHe said his ministry, through Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), had placed three community water tanks at Jackalas 1 which were supplied by water bowser daily from Ramokgwebana or Francistown, depending on water availability.

The minister stated that Moroka, in addition to supply from the scheme, had one borehole, BH 6 928, operating at a yield of 7m3/hr which was half of its original design capacity of 14m3/hr due to natural drop in yield which does not meet the village demand of 260m3 per day.

“WUC has applied and paid for connection of electric power to a second borehole, BH 4 175, with an estimated yield of 28m3/hr to augment the supply to Moroka, and this has not yet been installed by Botswana Power Corporation though payment to BPC was made in February 2019,” he said.

Ramokgwebana, he said, was supplied through rationing every second day as the village demand was 150m3 per day against an intermittent supply of 150m3 every second day hence daily demand was not met.

He said government had in the medium to long term interventions secured a P250 million loan from the World Bank group to address the efficiencies of the scheme under the Botswana Water Security and Efficiency Project BWSEP.

The project scope, he said, included upgrading of the Masingwaneng pump station to supply Masingwaneng, Gulubane, Mambo, Sechele, Makaleng, Toteng, Botalaote, Kalakamati and Sekakangwe and that it was currently supplying 7 megalitres daily.

 Tati-West MP, Mr Simon Moabi had asked if the minister was aware of the water supply challenges in the Tati-West constituency and measures in place to address the situation. Ends