14 Nov 2023

The agreement on the use of water from the Madikwe and Limpopo rivers between South Africa and Botswana gives the latter a raw deal as it gets a much smaller amount from the two shared rivers, hence the need to re-negotiate the deal. 

In his input to the State-of-the -Nation Address in Parliament on Monday, Kgatleng East Member of Parliament Mr Mabuse Pule said with the current agreement, South Africa gets the largest share of the water usage at 70 per cent, while Botswana gets only 30 per cent.

“This limits the farming activities that the Kgatleng river villages could do, and at the moment, the South African side of the fence is green with horticulture farms while our side is just barren because we do not get much water to pursue horticulture in earnest,” he said. 

Mr Pule therefore called on government to re-negotiate the deal to at least a 50-50 sharing basis. 

“We need to be stern and assertive in our negotiations this time around,” he said. 

Mr Pule also said more access to the rivers would enable the river villages to engage in aqua activities such as fish farming, which he said would also enable a continuous supply of fish. 

Meanwhile, Mr Pule appreciated the planned Modipane-Mabalane road as he said it would help ease of access to Gaborone. 

“This will make it easy for residents to transport their fresh produce to Gaborone where their major market is,” he said. 

He said the road would also ensure that the Sikwane border gets busy, thereby boosting its chances of being made commercial. 

Mr Pule also appreciated government for connecting villages in his constituency to the Mmamashia pipeline, saying that this would reduce reliance on imported water from the Molatedi Dam in South Africa. 

In other areas, Mr Pule requested government to extend Molefhi Senior School and upgrade Madikwe Junior School to a unified one. 

He said this would help address the current situation where students from Kgatleng were admitted as far as Ramotswa and Molepolole. 

“Admitting students that ffom that far, limits parents’ participation in students education because they cannot attend to activities like PTA meetings,” he said. 

Mr Pule also requested an additional primary school in Oodi, saying the  the village’s population was too much for one primary school. 

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Molepolole North, Mr Oabile Regoeng applauded President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi on the acquisition of land from the Tati company, saying the act was what Batswana have been crying for over the years. 

He said the move would help ease land shortage in Tati. 

He, however, decried the shortage of land in his constituency and urged government to negotiate with farmers to reclaim land between Metsimotlhabe River and Molepolole. 

He appreciated projects in his area, such as the planned Molepolole by-pass road which he said would help reduce mid-village traffic. 

He also requested government to speed up the planned paving of 25km of internal roads, which he said would augment the 17 km which is about to be completed through a constituency community project. 

Mr Regoeng also decried the low collection of waste in Molepolole, which he said was now a health hazard. Ends