10 Feb 2021

Kalakamati residents, who stay outside the village, have given the village dam a new lease of life through desilting.

The fund raising campaign they mounted last year managed to raise P8 500 and they engaged a private company to excavate the dam.

In an interview, the chairperson of the dam committee, Mr Ernest Masala, stated that for years the dam could not hold large volumes of water due to silt, which could only sustain their livestock for a few months then dried up, until the new raining season.

Mr Masala highlighted that the dam could be expanded further to water livestock, adding that the community was planning to debush the area around it, upon realising that there was potential for more rain this year.

He further noted that they were planning to fence the dam and install drinking troughs to water the livestock outside the dam area. He said livestock was drinking water from rivers and streams around the village because the persistent rain had ensured a sufficient supply.

Mr Masala hailed Kalakamati residents for displaying the spirit of giving, adding that it would have taken the dam committee years to raise funds for desilting.

He further noted that it was their dream to one day gather at the dam, after COVID-19 pandemic, to celebrate their efforts. ENDS