FCC Braces For Flash Floods
Pini Bothoko | Monday December 19, 2016 14:43
Usually after heavy downpours, the entire city experiences flooding with roads submerged in pools of water due to poor drainage.
Every year around this time, the city is caught up with the same problem but this time around the situation has been addressed in some areas according to the city mayor, Sylvia Muzila.
Muzila told The Monitor in an interview that water drainage remains a priority because the city drainage is poor and when it rains families are left stranded with their homes flooded.
She said following this, last year they took strategic measures to avert the problem by constructing roads with storm water drainage.
She stated that the council has a P2 billion storm water drainage master plan project that was once included in the NDP 10 but was shelved due to lack of funds.
“Water drainage is a priority to us hence we cannot sit waiting for the time when government would fund this project. We have divided the water drainage master plan into work areas that will enable the council to implement construction in phases, taking into consideration priority areas that have been agreed upon by the council,” said Muzila.
She stated that they have requested for P50 million to implement the first phase of the master plan, whose designs are completed and already paid for. Francistown City Council (FCC) recently revisited the plan to comply with the recent city’s developments like the construction of the ‘Spaghetti’ junction and other linking roads.
Muzila said if funds permit, they intend to upgrade a number of roads within the city to dual carriageway standard with storm water drainage.
She said currently the upgrading of Marang culvert at the cost of P1,319,984.96 is ongoing, at 53% completion, to ease water flow when it rains.
“This culvert is located where it used to be the hardest hit area. The area has been exposing motorists and pedestrians to danger and posing a health risk to residents,” said Muzila.
She said they are also constructing storm water drainages at Block One location currently at 93% complete to address the problem.
“We recently completed another construction of storm water drainage at Area G at the cost of P81,413.64. The rainy season is here. I am hopeful that the construction of the drains will alleviate the problem,” said Muzila.
She revealed that next year around February they have budgeted about P5,366.637.36 to construct asphalt overlay along the Marang road, still in response to water drainage in that area.
Muzila said usually when it rains ,people around that area especially residents of the River View plots, experience flooding.
She said floods are risky because they happen in homes; they destroy infrastructure as well as people’s properties.
The mayor revealed that the city also has sewage related problems that impact negatively on the flow of water especially when it rains.
Muzila stated that they have been patching potholes within the city to allow easy water flow.
Areas that occasionally experience floods when it rains are Block One, Area W, River View, Kgaphamadi, Maipaafela, Ntshe, Satellite and Somerset.