23 Mar 2026

Minister of Water and Human Settlement has acknowledged that sewage from the Boteti District is currently being transported and disposed off as far as Serowe, Maun and Francistown. 

Answering a question in Parliament, Minister Onneetse Ramogapi explained that the Letlhakane wastewater ponds were overwhelmed. The minister added that the facility had a design capacity of 0.274 million litres per day but was currently receiving 0.5 million litres per day. 

“Because the ponds cannot process volume beyond this limit, the ministry has been forced to divert waste to neighbouring districts,” he said. 

Regarding the district’s capacity to manage waste, Mr Ramogapi noted that two vacuum tankers were currently operational in the district, one tanker was based in Rakops, servicing the village and its surrounding areas while the second tanker was based in Letlhakane, servicing the village and nearby settlements. 

Minister Ramogapi further admitted that the ministry was aware of the negative environmental and economic impacts of hauling waste over long distances. He said while a new sewerage system for Letlhakane was prioritised under the eleventh National Development Plan (NDP11), the project was stalled due to financial constraints. 

“It has now been deferred for implementation during NDP 12,” Minister Ramogapi said. 

Boteti West MP, Mr Sam Digwa had asked the minister if he was aware that waste from drains in Boteti district was disposed off in Serowe and highlighted the inefficiency of using a single vehicle for such a vast area and questioned whether it makes economic sense to continue servicing Boteti via Serowe. BOPA