05 Aug 2020

The upgrading of the Sowa Water Supply Scheme project will help address water supply challenges for a number of villages in the Nata-Gweta constituency.

Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila told Parliament on Tuesday that the project, funded by the World Bank, was at the tune of P185 million and procurement for engineering consultancy for the design, tender documentation, tender management and construction supervision was ongoing. 

He further said the award of the tender planned for September 2020.

He said the design, tender documentation and tender management was expected to take six months and procurement for the construction works were scheduled to commence in March 2021, but the actual construction was expected to take 12 months.

Minister Mzwinila explained that it was true that the borehole water at Dukwi area was saline and as part of the engineering design, a desalination plant was to be considered to treat the saline water to class one drinking standard.

He said alternative water sources such as Chidumila and Mokubilo ground water sources and the Ntimbale Dam surface water source would be considered in the design to augment water to the Nata/Gweta constituency.

He said the engineering design study for the Sowa Water Master Plan project that was to be commissioned this September would examine current infrastructure, resources and operational philosophy against current and future estimated water demands for the Sowa/Nata cluster water demand area.

He added that the full intent being the assessment of the existing system, evaluating alternatives for expanding capacity and making recommendations for possible additional improvements to the existing infrastructure and the design for the works required to safeguard the security of the water supply of the greater Sowa/Nata area over a 20-year design horizon.

Minister Mzwinila said he was aware that there were plots allocated to farmers within the Dukwi quarantine for agricultural use. 

He said the plots had not been used as the ministry had indicated discomfort in allocating land within the Dukwi well fields for agricultural use.

He said his ministry was currently engaging with the ministry of agriculture to re-look at the decision based on the reasons that, the safe yield of the Dukwi Well fields was 3.9 million litres per day versus the current abstraction rate of 4.7 million litres per day. 

The scenario of over abstraction, he said, had led to deterioration in water quality and there were fears of possible aquifer depletion.

He said allocating farms for agribusiness would further increase the abstraction rate and exacerbate the already dire situation.

He also said farming activities in the form of pesticides, insecticides and fertilisers use would also pose a health risks by contaminating ground water resources.

He was responding to a question from Nata/Gweta MP, Mr Polson Majaga, who asked the minister to consider connecting water to Nata/Gweta constituency and Sowa Town to the Mathangwane water pipeline from Shashe Dam or greater Francistown instead of consideration of the Sowa water master plan since the borehole water in the Dukwi area was salty.

He asked the minister if he was aware that the borehole water in Dukwi quarantine was salty and the land within the area had been allocated to farmers, thereby causing conflict, saying the minister should  consider assisting Nata/Gweta constituency people with a long lasting solution of potable water provision since the construction of Mosetse Dam had not yet commenced as promised. Ends