Water shortage jeopardises residents� health
Imi Mokgethi | Wednesday August 17, 2016 16:02
Out of desperation, the villagers said they have resorted to using unsafe water.
This emerged during a kgotla meeting addressed by Serowe North Member of Parliament who is also the assistant minister of agriculture, Kgotla Autlwetse, at the villages on Monday. The meeting started at Gojwane where Kgosi Oagile Kethaetse said that for two weeks they have not been getting any water from the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) bowsers, as has been the norm.
He added that this has negatively affected the daily lives of residents. The matter emerged again at Serule as the Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Lefetsakgang Mokhondo noted with concern that they have long been promised that the water shortage situation would be permanently resolved, but this has not happened.
“The situation has gone out of hand such that residents now fight for the insufficient water from the bowser. It is in this regard that we request for your immediate intervention as our MP,” he said. Some villagers stated that they have resorted to drinking untreated water from boreholes, while others stated that they drive to Francistown to fetch water.
They further pleaded with the MP to request the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila to pay them a visit in order to get first-hand information about the situation.
“We are always told that there are no funds to connect water in our village, but some villages continue to get developments and I wonder where the funds come from. It is high time we are given first priority too,” said one fuming resident.
The residents further slammed the WUC for failing to entertain their suggestions to address the situation, highlighting that they have given them a number of alternatives that could significantly address the situation.
When reached for comment during the meeting at Gojwane as per the assistant minister’s request, the WUC department in Selebi-Phikwe stated that some of the pipes that carry water from the village’s tank are not working, resulting in water shortage.
They further indicated that their bowsing support is divided between two villages being Damochojenaa and Gojwane, thus the reason they cannot go to the same village everyday.
For his part, Autlwetse assured residents of the three villages that the situation would be addressed very soon as the relevant authorities are working around the clock to find a solution.
He added that a master plan to connect water to the villages from Letsibogo dam has been put in place, noting that the country’s current economic status does not allow for its immediate implementation.z
“Even if the master plan was to be implemented today, it would take two years for the project to be completed. It is for this reason that we have decided to utilise some of the boreholes in your area as temporary relief while awaiting the Letsibogo dam water connection project to be implemented,” said Autlwetse.
Meanwhile, Autlwetse told residents that the Kweneng-Serule road would be constructed under the Economic Stimulus Programme in a bid to avoid the traffic congestion and escalating car accidents along the A1 road.