27 Aug 2020

Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services minister, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila, says there is no plan to supply potable water to communities living in farms and cattle posts.

Answering a question in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Mzwinila said such localities did not form part of gazetted areas, therefore were not part of the ministry’s mandate to supply them with water as per the Water Utilities Corporation Act of 1970.

“My Ministry is not mandated and does not have the capacity to provide water to the thousands of meraka, masimo and farms across the country,” he said.

Mr Mzwinila noted that his ministry, through Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), was mandated to supply water to recognised settlements.

In addition, Mr Mzwinila said infrastructure provision came at a substantial cost and in orderly development and planning, services had to be concentrated at a limited number of settlements.

He said the standards and processes of gazetting settlements lied with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.  He said his ministry did not designate settlements, which were entitled to receive services.

Mr Mzwinila said in order to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 of provision of safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030, WUC provided pre-paid tokens to communities living in farms and cattle posts to access water for consumption from prepaid standpipes in the nearby recognised and gazette settlements or villages.

He said it was worth noting that the development of strategic transmission water pipelines was done within the planning scope of supply and such infrastructure development was done for gazetted settlements in line with the national development plan and structure plans in the district.

Furthermore, Mr Mzwinila said government facilitated Batswana on opportunities to have access to water.

As such, communities could take advantage of the availed programmes to access water.

In relation to vandalism of infrastructure in water supply, Mr Mzwinila could not confirm that the prevalent vandalism of infrastructure was associated with lack of water for human use rather than for livestock watering.

He said lack of water for livestock or farms could not justify acts of vandalism.

Mr Mzwinila said the ministry was concerned by the continued damage of water infrastructure that led to water wastage and disruption of supply.

“From our experience, most of the farmers who vandalise our infrastructure are using the stolen water for livestock. Vandalism of infrastructure is not condoned and is an illegal activity which cannot be excused or accepted by any form,” said Mr Mzwinila.

Minister Mzwinila was answering a question from Ngami MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama, who had asked the minister to update Parliament on whether there was a plan to supply potable water to rural and small communities living in farms and cattle posts in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6, of providing safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.  
If so, Mr Hikuama asked as to when the ministry was intending to roll out the programme and if not, to also explain why it was not possible to do so.

MP Hikuama had also wanted to establish as to when the concerned ministry would consider to at the least provide communities residing along water lines with strategic water points in the Ngami constituency as a strategy to reduce vandalism of water equipment as well as water wastage in the affected areas. ENDS