31 Oct 2013

Maun Administrative Authority (MAA) Sub-council chairperson, Councillor Galaletsang Mhapha has said they still experience low to no water in some areas within Maun due to limited hours of operations on a daily basis.

Speaking during the sub-council’s meeting recently, Cllr Mhapha said this was despite water being rationed accordingly to ensure even distribution of supply to all localities within Maun. He said inadequate water supply from sources compounded water shortage and this was also made worse by perpetual breakdowns and common vandalism by some individuals.

Cllr Mhapha said to alleviate the water shortage situation, the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) had placed 10 cubic metre plastic tanks on strategic positions, which were filled on a daily basis provided the bowser was available and had not broken down. He further said the demand was met in most villages outside Maun except for Matlapana, Matsaudi, Sexaxa, Somelo and Chanoga.

“To address such catastrophic water shortages, Chanoga will temporarily be provided with adequate reliable reticulated water from the portable plant, which is located near the old Chanoga primary school”, he said. For Matlapana, he said water supply will continue to be rationed until the commissioning of Maun old hospital since the provision of water to public institutions through bowsing will be minimal.

He said the construction of Maun old hospital surface water treatment plant is nearing completion and  is expected to be fully operational by December 2013, with Shashe and Kubung reservoirs due for completion at a later stage. Another water project nearing completion is the portable plant in Chanoga, which is expected to be operational end of November 2013. He said Somelo will continue to be bowsed until the proposed project for Reverse Osmosis plant is funded.

On other issues, Cllr Mhapha voiced his displeasure with the low number of people who registered to vote during the recent voter registration exercise. He said by the 20th of October, seven days before the deadline, only 31.6 percent of people had registered in the district.

“According to our statistics, a total of 110 070 people are eligible to vote. However, only 27 853 people have registered to vote against 88 056, which is the 80 per cent target set by the Independent Electoral commission (IEC),” he said. He said this was worrisome and hoped the numbers will increase to at least reach the set target such that most Batswana could use their right to vote in the forthcoming elections. ENDS