Thirst persists in Mokatako despite ‘expensive’ interventions
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday August 11, 2025 12:12
WUC said to date it has spent over P2 billion to provide water to Mokatako and other areas under the Lobatse Service Centre.
WUC’s general manager for Lobatse Service Centre, Mpho Tsotetsi, had visited the village on what he said was an annual consultation with areas hardest hit by water shortage. He said Mokatako is the worst hit of the 60 villages under his watch.
For their part, residents of the small village nestled between Phitshane- Molopo and Ramatlabama villages along the Botswana- South Africa borderline lament that, despite the government having spent a fortune in trying to provide them with clean drinking water, some of their taps have been dry as far back as 2014.
While the villagers directed their anger at WUC, stating that the situation got bad as soon as the corporation took over from Water Affairs in 2013, Tsotetsi said problems arose in 2017 as water levels dropped in the borehole that had been supplying the village.
“We had to find new ways to supply water in your village. And those include giving you water through a pipeline from Ditlharapa, and also using bowsing water trucks, which have also been not reliable enough. The Ditlharapa project also had its challenges, and we decided that the Goodhope District Water Supply Scheme Phase 2 would bring us solutions,” he said.
Tsotetsi said the project, though it faces challenges, is currently ongoing. He also said they had been bowsing water on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but failing on some days due to the fact that the truck also supplies water to Mabule, Phitshane Molopo, and Digawana but it breaks down a lot.
He said when the current project started, they requested that priority be given to the Ditlharapa Mokatako pipeline before doing the rest of the work. “They did so, and before we could get water from the Mmamashia pipeline, we got water from Ditlharapa borehole through the pipeline,” he said.
Tsotetsi said the Lobatse service centre, which includes the Goodhope District, requires 21 million litres of water daily. He said in the past, they were only able to get 13 million litres of water. “That left us with a deficit of eight million litres. When there is a shortage, Mokatako has always been the worst hit. You need 500,000 litres daily, but we have been managing to give you less than 100,000 litres daily,” he said.
He said the government took initiative to improve the water situation, starting with the Lobatse water master plan, which connected Lobatse to Mmamashia water treatment plant at the cost of P1.2 billion. He said the project is almost complete, with only communication control instrumentation.
“We also constructed water storage tanks in Lobatse, which are used to store water to be distributed in the service area. The project cost P360 million, and it also included the construction of pipelines within Lobatse. Further, we spent P100 million last year to increase pumps that distribute water to areas outside Lobatse,” he said.
In the Godhope area, Tsotetsi said they had two projects, one taking water from Goodhope to Motlokwe at the cost of P250 million, and that it is now complete.
“The one that affects you here at Mokatako was to connect from Pitsane named Goodhope district water supply 2.2. It gets water from Pitsane sidings through Ramatlabama, passes through Mokatako, and ends up in Sekhutlane at the cost of P550 million. They are the ones we pleaded with to prioritise Mokatako, as it was the worst hit,” he said.
According to Tsotetsi, in August 2024, they connected Mokatako to Ditlharapa as they have a better-performing borehole. He said this was because water from Mmamashia had not reached the area, as there were still works ongoing there.
He said the new pipeline between Ditlharapa and Mokatako had challenges from March as they discovered some leakages and hence could not deliver water properly. “The pipeline was connected to another pipeline from the borehole. But the pipe was later shut off by the contractor following a dispute between us. We only managed to reopen it recently. You will have realised that in the past few weeks, the water situation has been improving,” he said.
Tsotetsi stated that they are currently able to give Mokatako water from not just the borehole, but also the new pipeline, as it is now functioning.
He said they have also, from last year, been working on fixing leaking pipes from the Ditlharapa pipeline and those within Mokatako. “We fixed some and replaced some pipes as we realized there were a lot of leakages. We also made efforts to build more standpipes where people did not have water. We understand that the project is not complete as some areas are yet to be attended to. We will be bringing more staff to work on fixing the pipes and also ensuring there are adequate standpipes for the residents,” he said.
Tsotetsi said some of the pipes within the village were damaged by the contractor while erecting the major pipeline, something which he said affects them from supply water to all areas of Mokatako.
Despite the assurance that things would get better, and also being told their old water debts would be cleared, residents doubted the intentions of WUC to give them a reliable water supply.
Kgosi Manyeneng said her tribe was tired of promises that we never fulfilled with regard to water. “We hear that you came prepared to address us. We only hope that you will do the right thing and deliver on the promises, as we have suffered greatly without water. We have repeatedly called on your people to assist, but they sometimes come, make promises, and vanish while we remain suffering,” she said.
Tuelo Medupe said the last time she saw water come out of her tap was in May 2014. “My situation is painful because I have been to your offices many times. I see other people with new water metres and pipes, while I have none. I have to push a wheelbarrow to buy water for P3 for 20 litres. To fill up my water tank, I have to spend P800, which is too much for me,” she said
One gentleman who identified himself as Velem blamed WUC for the failure to keep their taps flowing after replacing Water Affairs. “We wonder where you took the engine for our borehole, which was helping us greatly. We do not believe what you say, because you never keep your word. Water Affairs was even better,” he said.
The general commentary by the public proved that they were not convinced that they would enjoy water like any other Motswana any time soon.