19 Mar 2023

The Ministry of Transport and Public Works is working round the clock to improve the drainage system at Gaborone’s Tsholofelo West flats.

Answering a question in Parliament recently, Minister Eric Molale said the ministry, through Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC), would also provide channels closer to the boundary to direct water away from the estate.

“My ministry through BHC is in talks with the Gaborone City Council, with a view to de-silt the stream and provide channels to drain water away from the residential area,” he said.

On one hand, the minister acknowledged the flooding that occurred around February 10 at the Tsholofelo West flats, commonly referred to as Tsholofelo 372.

Mr Molale explained that the hole opening that led water into the estate was closed off a few days after the recent flooding and a new opening had been introduced to discharge water away from the estate.

Mr Molale further said the flooding was not caused by poor design nor poor construction but by the absence of a dedicated storm water drainage in the commercial and residential areas around the site where the estate was developed.

“This was compounded by developments upstream and will therefore be difficult to put the blame on contractors and consultants of the Tsholofelo 372 project,” he explained.

Member of Parliament for Gaborone North, Mr Mpho Balopi had asked the minister if he was aware that the Tsholofelo Flats got heavily flooded during rains, thereby endangering residents and their property.

Mr Balopi also wanted to know if the contractors and consultants would face any consequences for delivering a project that was seemingly unsatisfactory and hazardous. ends