Bowsing and Jojos supply Gabane water

ARNOLD LETSHOLO
Correspondent | Thursday May 22, 2008 00:00

 

There is noise as young and old people stand in a queue holding water containers. This is Monday, the second day in which the village is without fresh water.

'Now listen, everybody,' shouts a security guard, his eyeballs rolling authoritatively around his audience. Silence dawns, and he continues: 'Are you all knocking off from your work places?'

There are only inaudible murmurs in response to his question.

'Now let me tell you this. This is the time at which I should be alone in this compound, ensuring everything is well. And so by 10 o'clock I want all of you out of this place,' he said with a tone of finality.

As he turned his back, marching away, a young man joked, 'ke nkga ditshwang kana malome - I am smelling of urine uncle)'. To that, two small boys laughed their lungs out.

'Hey. What are you laughing at? That man is telling the truth. He is in charge of these premises. Stop your silly laughter, lest he chases us out before we fetch water,' snapped one of the male adults.

'Yes, that man has the right to say that. Do not irritate him because some of us do not have even a drop for cooking, let alone bathing,' added a lady, her eyes fixed on the two boys. They terminated their laughter.

A few moments later, the same security guard is now at the gate, having audience with about fifty villagers. They all have empty water containers and some have them loaded on wheel burrows; some even in cars. He has closed all the gates and denying them access.

'I say the clinic has authorised that people may get water only from one tank. There are more than two hundred people inside there, already queuing for that tank. Some of them may even come from there with empty containers,' he tried to explain.

'Why can't you just let us in so that we can find for our self?' asked one of them
'No way! I will not do that. What am I going to tell my bosses when they come here and find people packed in the compound late at night?'

The argument goes on and on.

Interestingly, the water tanks they are talking about were full of water collected as rains fell the past wet season. Gabane village once recorded up to more than 110 mm of rainfall. Media coverage, including Botswana Television, once featured the bad condition the roads in the village are due to rainfall.

Yet, of all the people queued there for water, begging the security man to have mercy and ensuring they verbally pleased him, more than 60 percent live in modern bungalows. They wear expensive clothes and spend money in such things as entertainment and other things.  Rain falls, destroys their compounds with water from their roofs, then passes away. Nothing is collected for future use.

'You know, I was paying someone the other day to lay paving slabs around my bungalow because water from my roof is causing streams in my yard. I paid him P500. If I had collected some money for even eight months last year I could have purchased a JoJo container. I think it should be one thing I should buy when I get my bonus end of the year,' said Sipuniki Mmono, a middle-aged woman. She was one of those at the clinic to fetch water.

'I think I will have to discuss it with my wife. We intend buying a car for her but we may have to use one car and buy a JoJo tank. Even a hundred or so litres of it will be better. Water should be saved in this country,' thoughtfully said Jacob Keitse, one of those who cued there.

A young boy also thought it is a good idea that he would tell his father to consider. A Jojo tank is the green one sold in hard wares like Builders world.

Wednesday morning, a priest tells few members of his congregation how the compound of the church was full of people the previous day. The church has collected some water from the roofs.

A big pipe supplying the village has broken and the village has been without water since Sunday. Because of the emergency that had to be applied, no caution was issued to villagers that there would be no water for days. This left many of them with no alternative except to go around places where there are tanks to beg for this natural resource. So critical is the water problem in this village, about 17km from Gaborone-, that some kindergartens have temporarily closed. There is no feeding in primary schools for pupils.

Luckily, the Department of Water Affairs has sent bowser-trucks to help the situation. An environmentalist would take this opportunity to educate people about the importance of nature conservation, especially scarce water. (Sila Press Agency)