Irate Borolong villagers demand water
Pini Bothoko | Friday November 11, 2016 16:15
They are worried that despite their proximity to Shashe dam, a reliable source of water in the region, their domestic taps have been dry.
The problem has over the years become so severe that most parts of the village can run for months without a single drop of portable water from the taps.
In an endeavour to get answers, the villagers this week summoned the water authorities to a kgotla meeting to shed light on the situation.
Fed up villagers flocked to the village kgotla in numbers where they expressed their concerns over persistent water shortage and demanded solutions during discussions that took close to four hours.
Villagers said the water shortage jeopardises their health and negatively affects their daily lives as they have resorted to using unsafe water from the river for drinking.
They noted with concern that they have long been promised that the water shortage situation would be permanently resolved, but this has not happened.
Villagers further pleaded with their village councillor, Fletcher Mothubana to request the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Prince Maele to pay them a visit in order to get first hand information about the situation.
A resident, George Kelekwang said the situation has gone out of control such that residents wake up at night to fetch water at the public stand pipes putting their lives at risk of being attacked by thieves.
“We are always told that there are no funds to refurbish the water pipes since the old pipes are no longer capable of handling the pressure of the water, but some villages continue to get developments and I wonder where the funds come from? It is high time we are given priority as well because this situation comes a long way,” Kelekwang said.
He said water is a necessary resource for almost all aspects of life hence essential for the population wellbeing and the village’s economic activities.
Another resident, Wabuya Lentswe said at times government attempts to resolve some issues without budget giving an example of recent water shortage in Gaborone pleading that such should happen to them.
“We have for more than a decade faced this problem but just like the people of Gaborone who were assisted with immediate effect we need such help as well because this shortage comes from a long way. We need water because we cannot take this anymore,” Lentswe said. Lentswe suggested that since WUC is failing to provide them with answers it is best they unite and seek help from Maele or President Ian Khama.
Blade Maruatona pleaded with the WUC to give the village leadership a report on this problem as well as the cost of the project so that they can elect a task team to handle and seek further assistance because it has been years they endured the water shortage.
Responding to the villagers’ comments, WUC‘s water works superintendent Ndimi Shana admitted that WUC is not adequately supplying residents with water, as their water scheme is no longer capable.
He attributed the problem to old pipes that consistently burst because they cannot handle the pressure of water from the dam.
Shana said shortage of water does not only affect the villagers but four other villages of Mathangwane, Chadibe, Borolong and Shashemooke.
He said that the pipes that are used are of substandard material that cannot handle water pressure from the dam.
“Our pipes are not suited to handle pressure from the dam and as a result they burst and fail to distribute water accordingly across the village resulting in some parts of the village receiving water only at night when its use has reduced,” Shana said.
Shana said currently WUC does not have a budget for expansion of the supply tanks from Mathangwane to Borolong village hence it cannot say when the situation will be resolved.