01 Sep 2022

The Letlhakane waste water treatment ponds rehabilitation project is expected to commence this month with revised completion date of December 2023.

Boteti’s senior district officer for development, Ms Patience Fanikiso, revealed this to the ongoing third sub-council session in Letlhakane recently.

Ms Fanikiso stated that consultancy works for the project, funded by World Bank and designed by German Consultants, was 100 per cent complete and that the consultant was working on the final bidding documentation.  

She indicated that delays had mostly been due to modification of scope in some instances as well as the project being handled from outside. 

The project, she said, would be incorporated under Chobe Zambezi water transfer scheme during NDP 12, adding the expenditure stood at P3 million.

In addition, Ms Fanikiso stated that Boteti, southern and central villages’ water supply rehabilitation project construction works were scheduled to commence in October with an expected completion date of October 2023.

The project is expected to include Kedia, Mokobaxane, Mopipi, Xhumo, Mmadikola, Toromoja, Xere and Rakops.

She said consultancy work for the project was 100 per cent complete, and that it was currently going through relevant committees to complete awarding stage.

She said there had been delays due to a number of reasons, key amongst them being COVID-19 and strict World Bank procedures and processes.

She noted that there was also shortage of funds to start the project as most bidding contractors quoted funds exceeding the budgeted amount.

Ms Fanikiso said negotiations were ongoing between the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services and World Bank to suspend other World Bank funded projects under Water Utilities Corporation to supplement the shortage.

The budget for the project, she said, was P350 million and expenditure stood at P18 million.

Furthermore, she stated that the design and construction of a reverse osmosis plant and electrification of BH 5439 Mmatshumo was completed on March 16, 2022 and was now on defects and liability period.

Ms Fanikiso said the project was marred by challenges from inception stage, with delays attributed to late delivery of tanks and other materials, poor planning on the part on the contractor and some variations of the scope.

She said plant supplied Mmatshumo with treated water, noting that WUC was committed to monitoring the plant so that any problem encountered may be addressed during the defects and liability period. ends