12 Nov 2020

 Implementation of the Kgalagadi North and Ghanzi South Water supply project would have been implemented within 24 months, if it was not for legal delays.

The Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila told Parliament that the environmental tender was disputed from December 2018 up to date, and that EIA Projects issued an urgent application at the High Court in July 2019, a matter that was dismissed with costs on August the 17 this year.

He said EIA Projects had since approached the Court of Appeal on September 22, 2020, challenging the high court ruling. He told Parliament that the procuring entity, project management office, had requested for method to procure another environmental consultant, which was approved by the ministerial tender committee in October, but had also been affected by the appeal case.

Mr Mzwinila said the Macheng cluster, which was mostly affected, had a demand of 1.34 million litres per day against a supply of 0.833 million litres per day , showing a deficit of 0.503 million litres per day .  He noted that  Macheng cluster villages were supplied from five boreholes, three in Lehututu and two in Lokgwabe, while supply was augmented by bowsing water from Kang, which is 110km away with six bowsers supplying 0.096 million litres per day on average.

Minister Mzwinila said his ministry, through the Water Utilities Corporation had procured 20 water bowsers, 12 of which the supplier had delivered and the rest expected to have been delivered by December.

He said one of the two had been delivered to Hukuntsi cluster in addition to the four that were supplying to relief the water challenges in the area at 0.096 million litres per day over a distance of 110km from dedicated boreholes while two others supply Kang adequately.

He said due to logistical challenges brought by COVID-19, the bowsers could not be delivered by September as promised earlier. He said the bowsers were purchased from Scania, who were able to meet specification for off-road and difficult terrain vehicles. He said manufacturing to such specifications was undertaken in Brazil, which was among the hard hit during the pandemic’s initial stages.

Mr Mzwinila said the ministry, through WUC, had finalised tender for procurement of bowser services from the private sector and was due for closure by end of this month.

He said private sector bowsers would assist to augment water supply challenges across the country and combat COVID-19.

Mr Mzwinila said he was aware that bowsing was not fully addressing water challenges in the area and that implementation of the Ncojane Wellfields-Kgalagadi North water supply project was the major solution to the region’s water supply problem. 

He was responding to a question from Kgalagadi North MP Ms Talitha Monnakgotla who asked the minister if he was aware of that the people of Kgalagadi North continue to experience serious water shortage due to ongoing court cases and asked the minister to further state what he intended to do as a matter of urgency as bowsing had dismally failed to address the problem. ENDS