29 Jun 2022

 Residents of Borethe ward in Rasesa are worried that the water seeping from underground in their village might put their lives at risk.

In an interview yesterday, one of the residents, Ms Gosego Monyatsi said the situation was a health hazard, as the water had given rise to mosquitoes  and their pit latrines were also submerged which rendered them useless.

Ms Monyatsi said the crisis had been ongoing for over 10 years now but got worse in 2017 after Dineo hails storms, which left their yards flooded. She said as a result her backyard garden had been badly affected by stagnant waters and there was nothing she could do to save her plants.

“It is not nice at all, and worse enough we cannot even get any help from relevant authorities. I have made attempts to call the ward councillor to intervene, however, he is ever promising to come through,” she said. 

For his part, the ward councillor Mr Daniel Molokwe said he was aware of the situation, mentioning that the same incident was discovered around Pilane. Mr Molokwe added that he was in talks with relevant authorities, including Mochudi Sub-land Board, Water Utilities Corporation, and Department of Roads to address the situation. 

“The only assistance we got from the authorities was the grating of internal roads, which were completely damaged, at least to enable residents to have easy access into homesteads,” he said. 

The Chairperson of Mochudi Sub-land Board Mr Monageng Matsetse said the issue had not been formally reported to the sub-land board. He said nothing could be done unless the matter was brought forward and presented before the board.

He said during the early years, people were at liberty to request to be allocated open spaces as resident plots. 

He explained that the affected plots were allocated then, and no assessment was done since the land board acted on the choice of the applicants. 

Mr Matsetse stated that the area had been dry for years with a decent landscape. 

He said  however, during the Kgatleng Landboard sitting in  November 2021, the issue cropped when one resident requested for an extension of the plot towards the side where water was seeping from underground. 

“The applicant was looking to make a nursery and that is when we learned of the situation. It was not a complaint, but a request for an extension,” he said. Some residents were even transferred, hence it cannot be the responsibility of the land board to compensate,” he said. 

To this end, Mr Matsetse said Water Utilities Corporation had already visited the site to appreciate the situation where it was discovered that indeed the area was flooded with underground water, and there was no leaking of concealed water pipes. 

He said a suggestion was made to residents to consult department of geological services for assessments to determine the root cause, citing that the role of the land board was solely to allocate surface rights. ENDS