14 Jun 2022

The water supply situation in Maun business centre is reported to have gradually reduced due to the drying of Thamalakane River.

In his remarks at the ongoing full council session, the North West District Council chairperson, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotho said that other villages in the district like Sepopa, Ikoga, Toteng, Shorobe, Nokaneng and Habu were also experiencing water shortages, as the current supply was inadequate to meet the demand.

Mr Ntsogotho said vandalism of water infrastructure by farmers along Kareng, Makakung/Semboyo villages, Shashe, Mohembo West-Shaikarawe and Gumare-Sepopa transmission pipelines was rampant and had rendered efforts by Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) to supply water futile.

 Councilor Ntsogotho further highlighted that criminals stole cables and manhole covers, which had resulted in water shortages in the affected areas and high non-revenue water.

He urged the community to use the limited water resource sparingly and report any leakages because any supply disruption would take time to recover due to lack of storage.

The council chairperson reported that WUC through the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs was in the process of upgrading and improving water supply, water distribution network and sanitation reticulation in Maun.

He said the ongoing Maun Water Supply and Sanitation Upgrade Phase 2 was at 60 per cent progress and that it was expected to be completed in November 2022.

This project, he said had employed a total of 604 people of which 572 were citizens while  foreign nationals were 30.

Moreover, he noted that contract 2 which entailed borehole equipping, aimed to increase water supply and reliability in Maun and its satellite villages stood at 46 per cent and was expected to be completed in February 2023.

Mr Ntsogotho urged councilors to encourage the public to pay their water bills to avoid disconnections and inconveniences. ENDS