Long queues as Marapong battles water shortage
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday October 24, 2017 15:38
Frustrated villagers recently took their plight to Facebook showing long lines of people near a water storage tank.
Some of the pictures on Facebook showed children and adults using wheelbarrows and donkey carts to ferry water from the water storage tank. Kgosi Bakani Mampori of Marapong told Mmegi in an interview that the village has been experiencing acute water shortages since the Independence Day celebrations on September 30.
He said despite heavy rainfalls that were experienced in the village recently, his people still suffer from severe thirst.
Mampori said that he learnt that some of the villagers go to work and school without having bathed-a situation he added is not healthy.
The village leader said that they have long complained to relevant authorities about the dire situation over the past years, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
To ameliorate the situation, Mampori said they were provided with water bowsers, but the water storage tanks can go for days without water since they cannot cater for the large population of the village.
He said that the situation is compounded by the fact that it can take up to four days for authorities to fill the water bowsers.
“We have long protested about being supplied with water using three water bowsers in our village. The water does not last long because people from neighbouring villages also get water from our village,” he said.
The chief added that the water deficit should be solved forthwith because it has also affected schools in the village with some students missing their final examinations.
Mampori also lamented that the water crisis has also affected livestock and agricultural activities, which most villagers depend on for survival.
He said that it was reported that broken pipes transferring water from Maitengwe boreholes caused the crisis.
Area councillor, Gubungano Chilume echoed Mampori’s sentiments.
Chilume said that Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) provides the village and surrounding areas such as Semitwe with three water browsers, which are not enough to cater for the people of the three villages.
He pleaded with relevant stakeholders to rectify the situation before it totally gets out of control.
The area MP, Fedelis Molao was quoted by the Daily News saying that three boreholes in Goshwe have been connected with electricity in order to supply Marapong and Semitwe villages with water.
The newspaper quoted Molao saying so when addressing his constituents in Gaborone two months ago.
He was further quoted saying that authorities were aware that the two villages were facing water shortages.
The MP added that villages under the Sebina cluster, which include Marobela, Marapong, Semitwe, and Mathangwane, received their water supply from Maitengwe boreholes.
Molao said that the boreholes have not been able to keep up with the demand, which led them to frequent breaking down, leading to water supply shortages.
To address the situation, Molao explained that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has come up a long-term solution to the problem.
The ministry, Molao said, will source a loan to construct water infrastructure that would connect about 54 villages in the Shashe West Constituency to Ntimbale Dam.