30 Aug 2021

Water woes will soon be a thing of the past for Rappelspan and Struizendam residents as two water desalination plants commissioned by the Orange-Senqu River Commission are almost complete. 

Speaking during a tour of the SADC-spearheaded projects by Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services officials, Mr Michael Ramaano, a representative of the commission, said they would benefit Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and Namibia.

Mr Ramaano said the projects’ aim was to address threats to sustainable development and management of water resources of the Orange-Sengu River basin. 

He said the commission secretariat had been allocated P100 million to expend in the four SADC countries with Botswana’s getting a P25 million share.

The amount was for the desalination plants as well as ground water assessment within the river basin for the next five years, he explained.

He said water from high yielding government boreholes, which had been resuscitated and equipped, would be treated to portable standards at the Rappelspan desalination plant. 

Water from the newly-constructed evaporation pond would be used for watering small stock, he said.

Mr Ramaano noted that the Rappelspan plant was similar to the one installed at Struizendam for the same purpose of making borehole water portable. 

"The plant is installed, everything is on site, pumps, solar panels and all reticulation lines have been connected. The only thing that lacks is invertors and batteries that will run the plant when there is no electricity," he said. 

Mr Ramaano said due to challenges experienced with the contractor, the project, which  was supposed to have been completed on August 20, had been delayed. 

Another challenge, he said, was shortage of water in the area compounded by saline water from the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) treatment plant. 

Another speaker, the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Mr Nchidzi Mmolawa,  said it was critical to have working relations with WUC on the project in order to improve efficiencies.

 The desalination plant could be utilised as a source of water supply for both the community and small stock, he said. 

He called for the drawing of a strategic framework to encompass all water needs so that a solution for livestock could be used to meet human water needs. 

Explaining that the project’s main objective was to uplift the socio-economic status of communities, ministry public relations officer, Mr Botsalo Thamuku said it included two livelihood sub-projects set to take off once the water desalination plants were up and running. 

He said the two were small stock rearing and horticulture.

Mr Thamuku said P200 000 would be spent on starting small stock projects in Rappelspan while an identical amount would go towards Struizendam’s small stock and horticulture ventures. 

He said residents of the two villages were the targeted beneficiaries. 

Mr Thamuku said the projects would be run from the UNDP global environmental facility revolving fund of US$40 000.

Beneficiaries would be expected to repay the funds which would be re-invested back into communities, he explained. 

Ms Bogadi Mathangwane, a ministry official, said the  multifaceted project included livelihood sub-projects targeted at poverty eradication, solving water scarcity, salinity and improving water quality.

She commended  public officers for supervising the project and the community leadership for their support.ends