Even as the country is experiencing severe drought this year, Kumakwane village still has patches of green grass, a clear sign that the village is blessed with plenty of water. The village dam still has water while many other small dams throughout the country have run dry.
A few years ago, there were reports of houses sinking because of underground water. The Kumakwane water shortage saga is not only a reflection of similar prevalent situations in other villages across Botswana, but also the planning priorities of both the local and central government. Take for instance the case of Kumakwane, which has been hit by water shortage since last year. The mundane excuses being proffered by the Kweneng District Council (KDC) are that the output from Dikhutsaneng borehole overwhelms the carrying capacity of the pipes that feed into Kumakwane. As a result, we are told, the small pipes burst. Now what do you do with small pipes? You simply replace them with bigger ones! In any case, where were the council engineers when the specifications for this particular borehole and accessories were set? One of the excuses, which are heard throughout the country, is that of population growth. The classical example of this seeming administrative and planning inertia is in Gaborone where city engineers have, in the past 30 years, been reminding those who complain about infrastructural deficiencies, that the Gaborone of 40 years ago was designed for a smaller population than it holds today! That is only logical. Does it require an engineer and a planner to tell you that.
We learn it cost KDC close to P30 000 per truck each week to ferry water from Metsimotlhabe to Kumakwane. It is estimated that the exercise has so far cost KDC close to P3 million since it began last year. This is ridiculous since even the proposed pipeline project to connect the village to the Gabane reservoir, 15 kilometres away, would not be that expensive. Why did it take so long to connect the village to the reservoir?
We call on government to speed up the water project for the three villages - Tloaneng, Mankgodi and Kumakwane. Using water bowsers is not sustainable financially or environmentally.
Today's Thought
