WUC fails to resolve Borolong water problems?

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondent | Thursday February 11, 2010 00:00

'WUC is only aware that on Thursday February 4 2010, there was a power failure at the pump station that feeds the Mathangwane water tank from where Borolong and other villages are supplied. This resulted in low storage in the tank and hence low pressure led to no water supply to some of the villages supplied from this tank.

By Friday February 5, 2010, water supply to these villages was fully restored,' WUC public relations manager, Matida Mmipi has said. She denied that they are grossly negligent when attending to water problems.

'We advise our customers to report disruptions to their water supply as sometimes these are localised, for example resulting from a burst pipe in the locality. These can be reported to our toll free number 0800 555 555 or sms line 71324860 or e-mail: callcentre@wuc.bw,' she said. But contrary to Mmipi's claims Borolong water problems have not been sorted out, the village taps are still dry and residents have resorted to getting supplies from the river.

By yesterday, the councillor for the area, Jabulani Vuke was at the Tonota Sub-District office trying to find ways to restore water to the village. 'As I talk to you, there is no water in Borolong today (yesterday). The WUC people are running around like headless chickens not knowing what to do because in essence, they appear to have no clue what could be the problem,' said Vuke.

He said when WUC took over the distribution of water in the village, they brought their own people and kicked out council employees who were conversant with the job and the system. 'It appears those people are clueless. They do not know what they are doing,' he said.

Villagers are not only unhappy with the prolonged disruption of water to their area. They feel they should have been consulted about the disruption, and contingency measures taken to resolve the problem.

'People are taking us for granted because we are from a small village. That is why they can just close water taps in the village without alerting us. They should have bowsed water to this village as soon as they cut water supply from our taps. As it is, it is sheer arrogance of these people to cut water supply to this village and then sit down and do nothing about it,' said a resident with a baby strapped to her back and a plastic bucket on her head filled with water from the river.

Meanwhile Mmipi said that Borolong is one of the 52 villages whose water supplies have been taken over by WUC from February 1, under the Water Sector Reform Programme.