Is gov’t winning the water battle?

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday December 19, 2022 06:00

Mahalapye water treatment plant was commissioned early this year to rectify water problem in the village and surrounding areas PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

President Mokgweetsi Masisi has indicated in the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the government continues to invest in key water projects throughout the country.

He pointed out that the government is also pursuing arrangements for cross-border water supply. The Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs is supposed to request an amount of (P8,457.00 million) from Parliament for infrastructure development of the second transitional National Development Plan (NDP) 2023/2024.

So far, the Ministry will take the largest share of the NDP 2023/2024. According to the report of the plan, the programme aims at the identification, acquisition, development, operation and maintenance of complimentary water sources and the transference of these water resources from source to storage facilities. “Human settlements which expand and spread uncontrollably exacerbate the limitation of existing water resources and infrastructure.

The water supply infrastructure footprint will be extended to optimise both coverage and access through expansion of water sources and water supply reticulation to new population growth points,” the report says.

So far the ongoing projects include, North-South Carrier 2.2 (NSC 2.2), North-South Carrier 2.3 (NSC 2.3), Molepolole-Gamononyane NSC Connection, Lobatse Water Master Plan, Kasane/Kazungula Water Network Rehabilitation, Goodhope Water Supply – Phase 2.2, Botswana Emergency Water Supply and Efficiency Programme Boteti (Letlhakane), Sowa and Sector Reforms and Institutional Support), Bridging the National Water Supply Gap – Emergency Water Supply (Itholoke, Mababe, Gugama, Molapo, Mothomelo and Lubu), Seronga-Gudigwa Water Supply (Mogotho/Ngarange), Thune Dam Project (Pipeline 3B: Bobonong – Lepokole and Pipeline 3C: Mathathane-Motlhabaneng) and Ncojane Wellfield – Kgalagadi North Water Supply.

The new projects include Namibia-Botswana Water Saline Desalination, Chobe Zambezi Water Transfer Scheme, Lesotho-Botswana Water Transfer Scheme and Rainwater/storm water harvesting (Gaborone, Sowa, Kgalagadi, Boteti).

Still on the water issue, when Masisi was updating the nation, he said some of the key water projects like the Mmamashia Water Treatment Plant expansion are in progress and expected to be completed in September 2023 while the Lobate Water Master Plan project, which is meant to improve water supply to areas along the Lobatse – Gaborone corridor will be completed by end of 2023.

He, however, said the Gamononyane-Molepolole water pipeline construction is ongoing and will improve water supply in Molepolole, Lentsweletau, Metsimotlhabe, Thebephatshwa, Goodhope and surrounding villages. The project will be completed during the first quarter of 2023. He said a significant number of villages in the Tati district are benefiting from an improvement in water supply. The construction of a pipeline bringing water from the North-South Carrier to a series of villages in the Tswapong area is on course.

Additionally, he said the government also intends to secure trans-boundary water resources on the bilateral and multi-lateral fronts through the Chobe-Zambezi Water Transfer Scheme as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). A feasibility study will be completed by February 2023, which has already been budgeted for. The Minister of Land Management and Water Affairs Kefentse Mzwinila had in the past indicated that they had forced the government to support the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) to fast-track major waterworks in the water-scarce but economically active southern part of the country, which includes the Greater Gaborone area. In an effort to curb water shortages across the country, Mzwinila said his Ministry has commissioned yet another pipeline, Lobatse-Mogojogojo pipeline and associated works commissioning.

The project would quench the area thirst after 10 years of struggle. The newly commissioned Lobatse-Mogojogojo water supply pipeline has reduced the water supply deficit for the Goodhope Cluster from just over three million liters to about one million liters per day. “The water development in Mogojogojo village has caused high water supply from Lobatse because Lobatse pipelines are supplied by Gaborone pipelines and their main supplier is Masama boreholes and the water is purified at Mmamashia. The Mogojogojo water development also increased the supply of water from Lobatse to Mogojogojo village as most of the water pipelines are connected all the way from the North of this country, but there is still water shortage in Botswana,” he highlighted.

The North carrier pipeline from Mmamashia still fails to supply enough water to different parts of South Botswana. With the development of the Mmamashia pipeline, water supply to Gaborone has increased to 64 millilitres per day. Last year during the commissioning of the Masama-Mmamashia 100km pipeline infrastructure at Mmamashia, Masisi said as the government looks to diversifying the economy and attract foreign direct investment into the country, the availability and access to basic utilities such as water and electricity cannot be overemphasised.

At the time he pointed out that the completion of the project was a significant step in the right direction because it did not only improve the reliability of potable water supply, but also enhanced the socio-economic status of the people living along the pipeline corridor. Masisi said the completion will bring the country towards the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 6, which calls for all nations to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.