02 Oct 2022

The P893 million Moshupa sanitation project will be completed in April 2023.

Speaking during a site visit on Tuesday, the Minister of Lands and Water Affairs, Dr Kefentse Mzwinila said projects should be delivered within time and on budget.

Dr Mzwinila said the sanitation project was important in many ways.

“In future, this water would be cleaned to a consumable state and returned to households. Technology is there to fully clean the water,” he said.

He said for the sanitation scheme to effectively work, there had to be enough water, hence efforts made to increase supply of water to the southern part of the country.

He said in the near future, supply of water, through North-South carrier, would further improve water supply by connecting the third pipe to the southern part of the country.

“Water shortage would be a thing of the past,” he added.

The fourth pipe, Dr Mzwinila, said would be constructed to carry water from Chobe and would be completed in 2027.

He urged residents to start applying for sanitation connections, noting that each connection would cost P1 500, which he said was a reasonable amount as the standard fee should be around P3 000.

The minister thanked the main contractor, UNIK/Tong-Ke Joint Venture for passing knowledge and skills to locals who worked with it.

However, Minister Mzwinila said there was a lot that the contractor could still do for the community.

Pertaining to allocation of residential plots, he said, 21 000 plots would be allocated in Ngwaketse area before end of 2023.He thanked Moshupa residents for being patient while processes were being followed to bring developments such as the hospital, sanitation project as well as residential plots.

For his part, project Consultant from Wellfield Water Resources Joint Venture, Mr Wells Mvula, said the project involved construction of sewer reticulation over the entire village, pump stations, waste water treatment plant, water supply to the treatment plant, access roads to the treatment plant and pump stations.

He said the construction of Moshupa sanitation project commenced in November 2020, adding construction period was 20 months and believed it would be completed in April next year.

He said even though COVID-19 pandemic affected progress, the project was 75 per cent complete, adding they were currently training Water Utilities Corporation employees on how the system works.

“For a full year after completion, we would still be available to attend to any defects and in that period we would still be passing skills to employees,” he said.

The area Member of Parliament and Minister of Entrepreneurship, Mr Karabo Gare thanked Dr Mzwinila for developments in his constituency.“I also thank all former members of parliament for Moshupa – Manyana constituency for having made a solid foundation for developments in the area,” he said.

He encouraged his constituents to make use of water from the sanitation project in their agricultural projects, as the area lacked enough underground water.

Mr Gare shared Dr Mzwinila’s sentiments that in terms of giving back to the community, there was still a lot that the contractor could do for the area.

Kgosi Oscar Mosielele of Moshupa said he was grateful for the developments in the area, noting that residents’ lives would be improved. However, he said they encountered challenges due to dug trenches which put residents’ lives in danger, further requesting that all processes should be followed to ensure that no one was affected by such. ENDS