15 Oct 2026

Progress on water and sanitation projects in Maun is advancing the provision of clean drinking water and improved sanitation services to communities, Minister of Water and Human Settlement has said.

Speaking in an interview during a tour of water and sanitation infrastructure in Maun on Tuesday, Minister Onneetse Ramogapi said he was satisfied with progress made so far, noting that the projects were aligned with the objective of ensuring that communities had access to clean drinking water and sanitation services.

He said the tour was mandated to provide an opportunity to assess the progress of sewage treatment plants, identify challenges and explore possible interventions to address them.

“The objective was to check on the progress of the projects and establish whether we are achieving our mandate which includes providing clean water to communities,” he said.

The minister noted that the return of water to the Thamalakane River after an extended dry period had presented challenges for some sewage infrastructure located along the river, as flooding affected plant systems.

Furthermore, he noted that the ministry was still exploring ways to mitigate the situation as community members residing in proximity to the river needed to be serviced as well.

Meanwhile, the minister encouraged residents to connect their properties to available sewer networks to benefit from the infrastructure, noting that reliance on sewage pump trucks was costly.

“Some of the community members are already connecting to these sewage systems hence I encourage all Batswana to follow suit and make use of the available resources that have been put in place to protect the environment,” he said.

Minister Ramogapi said the Sexaxa water treatment plant was already contributing to water supply in Sexaxa, Matsaudi and Shorobe, demonstrating the projects’ contribution to improving access to essential services. ENDS