03 Feb 2014

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Nonofo Molefhi on Friday (January 31) visited Serule and the surrounding areas to assess the extent of rain following some heavy rainfalls that submerged part of the AI highway.

In an interview, Minister Molefhi said there had been an accumulation of rain water into the road hindering traffic to pass smoothly in the area around Serule and Moreomabele stretch of the AI road.

He said Serule village had been submerged under rain water and that the volume of water crossing the road from west to east was huge by Thursday (January 30) and Friday (January 31). Minister Molefhi explained that rain water had overwhelmed the streams in the area forcing them to flood into the bush and to cross over the highway.

He however, said by 10 pm on Friday both heavy trucks and light vehicles had begun to cross smoothly but complained that some drivers were not cooperative with the police who have been dispatched to control traffic in the affected area. He said when the situation got worse, they had to call a Botswana Defence Force (BDF) helicopter from Selebi-Phikwe to assess the area and that the officials under his ministry are keeping a hawk eye on the situation should it continue to rain.

At the time of going to press, the minister said no accident had been reported but appealed to motorists to cooperate with the police to prevent any accident that might occur due to flooding in the area. Minister Molefhi hinted that at some stage some bus owners were forced to divert their routes to expedite their businesses.

Meanwhile, Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) Corporate and Communications Manager, Ms Matilda Mmipi said the Shashe and Letsibogo dams in the north have started to overspill because of the rains while Ntimbale dam has been full for a while. She said by January 31, Dikgatlhong dam was at 43 per cent but due to the current rains, the water levels in the dam had also increased.

Ms Mmipi said the situation is still disturbing in the south because nothing has so far changed and that WUC encourages people to continue conserving water. ENDS