17 Dec 2020

Sowa Town deputy district commissioner, Mr Tsaone Nkarabang, has expressed concern over the malfunctioning of water drainage system in the town. 

Speaking in an interview with BOPA on Tuesday in Sowa Town, Mr Nkarabang said due to recent rainfall, water drainages were full and pushing water back into the town.

He said this had led to water accumulating on certain lower ground areas around town.

Mr Nkarabang said with the current floods in certain areas of town, water was being pumped out of collection ponds and allowed to flow elsewhere.

He noted that pumping water out of  town could also possibly help them control elephants and keep them away from town as most of the times elephants moved around in search for water and gathered where water was abundant. He said floods had since disrupted people’s movements from their yards, adding that by pumping water out of town, residents would move out of their yards and reduce the risks of children falling into culverts and drowning.

Furthermore, Mr Nkarabang cautioned people against discarding waste around town as this resulted into blockage of water passages.  

Therefore, he urged residents to take responsibility of ensuring that their environment remained clean instead of depending on council staff to clean it for them.

The deputy district commissioner further advised residents to continue adhering to the COVID-19 protocols, adding that normally during the rainy season hygiene was usually compromised, therefore it was important to always keep the surroundings clean and continue to sanitise as well as wear masks appropriately.

For his part, the council’s principal roads engineer, Mr Isaac Legase also concurred that storm water drainage in Sowa Town was malfunctioning. 

He said during heavy rains, water back-flowed into the town as slopes were not good and this resulted into the town flooding.

Mr Legase said during such floods, they pumped water out from the storm water collections although the move was a temporary solution as the floods kept reoccurring. 

Kgosi Reuben Majeremane of Sowa Town was also worried about floods that occurred in town, which posed a risk to the residents.

He said there were usually some cases of drowning involving children during heavy rains. 

For that reason, Kgosi Majeremane urged parents to be vigilant and restrain their children from swimming in rivers and ponds. ends