WUC drags contractor to court
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday July 28, 2025 10:56
This time around, the Water Utilities Corporation's (WUC) water plant in Goodhope has been shut down, and WUC has been prevented from accessing it for purposes of supplying water to the residents of the village of Goodhope and surrounding villages. According to documents in a case in which WUC dragged the JV to court over the issue, the shutdown was done by them. Represented by Kago Mokotedi of Otto Itumeleng Law Chambers, WUC has dragged the Joint Venture (first respondent) and Kelebogile Monnaatshipi (second respondent) to court seeking a Rule Nisi be issued calling upon the respondents to show cause why an order should not be made in the following terms; Directing that the actions of the JV and Monnaatshipi to lock out and deny WUC and its employees' entry and access to the chambers to the water tanks for the supply of water to the villages of Ditlharapa, Molete and Mokatako villages, constitutes an act of spoliation, alternatively an act of self-help and therefore null and void: Ordering and directing the respondents to immediately and forthwith restore the status quo ante before its unlawful actions concerning access to the chambers for the supply of water to the afore stated villages; Restraining the respondents from locking access to the chambers to the water tanks and resorting to self-help with respect to the water supply to Ditlharapa, Molete, and Mokatako, and any other chamber which is in the possession, custody, and use of the Applicant herein and used for purposes of water supply to any village, including the villages of Rakhuna, Ngwatsau, Ramatlabana, Makokwe, Papatlo, Matasalalo, Borobadilepe, Hebron, Logagane, Phihetswane and Marojane. Alternatively, an interim interdict is hereby granted interdicting the respondents from locking out the applicant and its employees from accessing the chambers at the water tanks and thereby cutting off the water supply to the villages to Ditlharapa, Molete and Mokatako or any other village pending the institution and finalisation of a dispute to the Dispute Adjudication Board ('DAB') in terms of the parties dispute resolution mechanism.
According to the founding affidavit by WUC’s corporate secretary Felicity Ziga, the parties entered into an agreement in terms of which the JV was awarded a tender for the construction of the GoodHope Sub-district water supply Scheme 2.2. The commencement date of the project was the 24th of May 2022, while the completion date for the project was the 23rd of November 2023. The end of the Defects liability Period was the 23rd of November 2024. According to Ziga, after the project commenced, a decision was taken between the parties that due to the acute water shortage in the villages of Ditlharapa, Molete, and Mokatako, there must be an early beneficiation connection to the pipeline which was being constructed by the JV.
She stated that under the early beneficiation from the project, a borehole situated at Ditlharapa would be connected to the pipeline to supply water to the villages that had an acute water shortage. Ziga also said, before the project that was awarded to the JV, the villages of Ditlharapa and Molete were supplied with water by the Corporation from a borehole owned by the Corporation situated at Ditlharapa village. At Mokatako village, the Corporation delivered water on water tanker trucks from Lobatse. “To alleviate the water situation at the above three villages, the early beneficiation decision was taken to connect the borehole to the pipeline that was constructed by the JV. A borehole was then connected to the pipeline to supply the three villages,” Ziga stated. Furthermore, she stated that there was a handover of the section pipeline between the villages of Ditlharapa and Mokatako and that a certificate of handover was issued. “I verily aver that since the issuing of the taking over certificates for the Ditlharapa - Mokatako Pipeline Section, which certificate was signed on behalf of the JV by one Nginani Mbayi, WUC took possession and control of the pipeline section for its use and benefit of the residents of Ditlharapa, Molete, and Mokatako. By taking such possession, WUC and its employees had unlimited access to the chambers and supplied water to residents through such possession and access to the chambers,” she stated. According to Ziga, during WUC's peaceful and undisturbed possession and control of the Ditlharapa - Mokatako Pipeline section, as well as the chambers, they realized that there was a leaking pipe at CH 65+ 957. After realizing this, she said WUC, through its officer, Mpho Mpuchane, addressed a letter to the JV requesting that the leakage be repaired.
The JV, according to Ziga responded, stating that, 'the damaged works were taken over by the employer in December 2024 and the Contractor expects the Employer to report the acts of vandalism to police for them to commence investigation and arrest the culprits'. She further stated that WUC employees accessed the chambers and the isolation valve to discharge the statutory function of the Corporation. “I must add that the corporation's mandate is very important in the scheme of things. The centrality of water to life, livelihoods, sanitation, and health is a common cause. No reasonable person can deny the truism that water is life! I verily aver that the function of supplying and distributing water to residents of Botswana, in particular to the villages of Ditlharapa, Molete, and Mokatako, is as important as the preservation of human life and human dignity,” she stated.
She stated that she was informed by one Keoagile Thomas, who is an employee of the corporation that on the 10th of July 2025, he realised that there was no water supply to the village of Mokatako and upon visiting the chamber to inspect what could be the problem, he realized that chambers which were handed to the corporation were locked with padlocks. This was after they were inundated with several calls and enquiries from residents of Mokatako and the local authorities that their taps were dry. “I must state that this report was quite disturbing to us and the corporation. I aver that I, together with the relevant officers, issued an instruction that the entire chambers be inspected to establish their status. I aver that this action was taken in order to assess the extent of the problem so that the corporation could have a holistic appreciation of the problem. She stated that the report was disturbing to the corporation and that following inspection, it was discovered that a total of 15 chambers, affecting 15 villages, were locked and the corporation had no access to these chambers in order to pump, supply, and distribute water to residents of the 15 villages.
These, she said, included chambers that were handed over to the corporation, and which the corporation enjoyed peaceful possession and control. “Shocked and dismayed by this discovery and scale of the problem, I then addressed a letter to the JV on the 14th of July 2025, instructing them to unlock the chambers. In my letter, I indicated to the JV that its action of locking the chambers is inhibiting the Corporation to supply water to the villages of Ditlharapa, Molete, and Mokatako. The letter further reminded the 1st Respondent that their actions are contrary to the Waterworks Act and border on a criminal activity to deny the public water. The letter requested the JV to unlock the chambers, failing which the Corporation will approach the court for redress,” she stated.