Kedikilwe eager to solve Goodhope SSS's water crisis

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Tuesday October 12, 2010 00:00

The minister promised the Southern District Council (SDC) last week that he would meet with  education minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi and her Local Government counterpart Lebonaamang Mokalake to discuss possible solutions for the school that has been experiencing water shortages since its establishment in 2008. 

Kedikilwe met with the SDC chiefs in Goodhope last Friday and discussed possible solutions. Among the possible solutions, attendees suggested that the school should be closed temporarily while the ministries find a permanent solution to the problem.  Even though it was not the most favourable, attendees agreed that Kedikilwe should table it with the Ministry of Education. 

Alternatively more bowsers could be bought to supply the school water with. However, some attendees felt that this would just be a temporary measure that was costly and unsustainable.

The council agreed that the school will cope with about six bowsers. 

It was suggested that bowsers could be sourced from other departments if they could not be purchased. This suggestion was noted as another option Kedikilwe should  tackle with his Cabinet colleagues.

With a total population of 2, 500 people, the water supply demand at Goodhope Senior Secondary School currently stands at 500mm per day. 

The school is being supplied from Lobatse through a 'secondhand corroded temporary quick coupling 150mm alvenious pipe laid on ground surface with two pump stations in Lobatse and Gathwane respectively,'  revealed SDC chairman, Leach Tlhomelang.

He said this was to be a temporary arrangement since there was a design ongoing by Pula Consultancy for a permanent water works whose construction could not be completed due to economic recession. So it had to be shelved. 

Again, the school continues to suffer water shortages because most of the water is pumped on the ground due to the old alvenious pipes that can no longer sustain the pressure from the two pump stations, hence a lot of leakages in various spots along the pipeline. This results in high water bills for council, Tlhomelang said. Another problem is that since the pipeline is on top of the ground, it is prone to vandalism. Some people break the pipeline to water their livestock, for example. 

Deputy Acting Senior Assistant Council Secretary Kagiso Mokotedi told Mmegi that currently some of the old water pipelines have been replaced with new ones that the Ministry of Local Government gave to the council.

 He says because of gravity and leaks in the pipeline, the school used to receive only 60 percent of the required water, but now receives a little more because of the replaced pipelines. 

Now due to increased pressure, water pipes at the school could not handle the pressure and hence leakages everywhere around the school. 

The chairman therefore requested during the meeting that Kedikilwe should suggest to the Ministry of Education to embark on a thorough assesment of whether the construction company used sub standard materials during construction.