14 Feb 2023

The Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs is in the process of rolling out alterative advanced technologies for water metering.

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, Dr Kefentse Mzwinila said P1.5 billion would be used in the installation of the smart meters while its implementation would be outsourced to the private sector as metering service over the next three years from the third quarter of this year.

He said the component, which is called automated device management system, was intended to manage all devices at Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), including both post and pre-paid.

Also, he said the system necessitated the installation of smart meters, which were first installed as a pilot project at Nanogang Junior Secondary School while another batch of 1 000 meters were installed at the Village location in Gaborone.

“The corporation is currently in the process of running a proof of concept for prepayment on smart meters, which will be conclude within the next 12 to 16 weeks.

Water Utilities Corporation is not out rightly going for prepaid meters, but rather smart meters, which will have a capacity of both prepayment and post payment,” he explained.

Member of Parliament for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, had asked the minister to give an update on the use of water smart meters in Botswana. ENDS