Goodhope can�t look to homeboy

| Wednesday November 26, 2014 16:51

However, the new Member of Parliament for  Goodhope-Mabule James Mathokgwane made stunning remarks about the situation at the school. He said that students are forced to use the bush to relieve themselves because of the locked water system toilets; they eat very late in the middle of the night; and recently experienced a diarrhoea outbreak because of the water situation. To underline his arguments, Mathokgwane warned that he would make sure that the school is not reopened in January if this problem is not addressed, stating that he will lobby students and parents to boycott the school.

The Goodhope water situation is surprising in that in May this year, Mathokgwane’s predecessor, who is minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources Kitso Mokaila commissioned a water augmentation project.

The ministry stated then that, “…once in supply, the water deficit and problems that are being experienced in Good Hope will be resolved. The villages of Pitsane, Bethel and Dinatshana will be augmented by Kgoro borehole, which currently supplies Good Hope. Consequently, the water situation in the said villages will also improve”.

The question that still baffles the mind is why the school appears to be struggling for water immediately after the commissioning of the project?

Why do we continue to have stubborn problems in conveying water from sources to those who need it? As it stands, the country technically has enough water to supply its needs, but the technology and infrastructure is sorely lacking.

Even where the infrastructure is available, all manner of gremlins are attendant.

At the commissioning of the Malwelwe water project in August, we learned with shock that Water Utilities Corporation said it is unable to control water leaks because it has shortage of manpower in the field. WUC made it known that despite ours being a desert country, where a drop of water means a lot to our livelihoods, it finds it normal to continue losing hundreds of thousands of litres of water through leaking pipes.

It is disturbing that six years later, the Good Hope Senior Secondary School water shortage has not been addressed and it is the home of the minister responsible. What about other areas that do not have homeboys in cabinet?

                           Today’s thought

“To believe that what has not occurred in history will not occur at all, is to argue disbelief in the dignity of man.”

 

                      - Mahatma Gandhi