On Wednesday, Segoditshane River did what it has frequently done over the years – breach its banks, run over its old, low-lying bridges, and flood the capital city.
Frustrated Gaborone residents found themselves stuck and stranded wherever they happened to be at the time as the rains intensified and forced the closure of most of the major routes in and out of the city.
Aggravating the frustrations was that as the rains poured down and parents found themselves unable to reach children who were knocking off school, many remembered that the waters of Segoditshane River barely ever serve any purpose for Gaborone.
The river runs through the capital, then stretches north to rejoin the Notwane River, eventually reaching the Limpopo River and spilling out into South Africa.
“At each point in Gaborone where Segoditshane River passes a road is a low-lying bridge and anyone who had to cross the area experienced challenges on Wednesday,” said Philemon Mosheti, a 45-year-old combi driver. “From Block 5 to Molapo Crossing, then Block 3, the Maoka area and Ginger, all these areas had bridges heavily flooded by the river.
“The worst part is that this happened as school-children were knocking off and we had to sit with many of them until evening, stuck in traffic waiting for the police to clear these areas.”
Residents say they do not understand how Segoditshane River has remained a trouble spot through the decades that Gaborone has existed.
Francistown has the larger, wider and more prominent Tati River, but prior to the floods witnessed there on Thursday, the river’s passage through the country’s second city has been far more well-managed.
“In Gaborone, Segoditshane River is often a stream in many places, and yet it wreaks so much havoc because of poor planning and the failure to correct the problem over the years.
“In Francistown, Tati River generally does not cause havoc, except for this week when we saw flood due to excessive rains. “The trouble with Segoditshane is planning and commitment,” said Mosheti.
Running from Gabane, Segoditshane River is a Gaborone landmark around which the city and its neighbourhoods have grown. Whilst most of the stormwater drains in the city spill into Segoditshane River, the river’s course means that over the decades since Gaborone was built, it has not contributed any treatable water supplies to a city that frequently faces supply challenges.
Its “contribution” beyond accepting stormwater drainage was noted in a study done by some consultants a few years ago.
“The river can hamper mobility across neighbourhoods, is often used as a waste dumping site, and harbours petty criminals,” the consultants wrote.
And yet, for all its negatives, the problem child is full of potential.
As far back as the late 1990s, visionary leadership in both the council and government saw the potential of developing river-front real estate along the Segoditshane River. Across the world, riverfronts are prized pieces of real estate which spawn malls, hotels and other resort sites, and even water-based activities.
No place is this more evident in Botswana than at the Chobe River, where competition for river-frontage is fierce, with tourism chains developing multi-million pula assets and activities.
In Gaborone, only Notwane River can claim to have any form of real estate directly related to its scenery. Notwane River has a major mall, Riverwalk, in eastern Gaborone, on the border with Tlokweng.
In 2017, the Gaborone City Council completed the Segoditshane River Corridor Master Plan, which detailed plans to demarcate river-front real estate along the channel and create brand new commercial and aesthetic glory for the capital from its “problem child”.
Artist impression images made available online by consultants involved in the master plan are breathtaking, with those involved noting that the idea is to “eliminate flood hazards and create a natural river corridor as a destination of amusement, entertainment, and recreation.”
“To beautify the large stretch of riverfront by providing gardens, promenades, landmarks, permanent open recreation areas, and street furniture, etc, thus creating Segoditshane River as a cleaner and fresher environment to make the city enjoyable to live in and make the River as one of the scenic sights to be visited and experienced for all citizens and visitors, supported by various prominent landmarks to promote orientation along the river,” reads one of the objectives of the master plan.
While the plan has moved glacially over the decades, in 2024, it appeared to gather momentum, with government saying plans were underway to package the project as a Public Private Partnership and attract private capital.
The Botswana Guardian quoted then Lands and Water Affairs minister, Kefentse Mzwinila, as saying the masterplan was awaiting the “incorporation of recommendations of Strategic Environment Assessment.”
The final master plan, Mzwinila said, was due to be approved in December 2024. In the meantime, “quick wins” that had been identified included high-rise residential development, redevelopment of Botswana Police Institutional Housing, mixed land use and others.
The Botswana Guardian quoted Mzwinila as telling legislators that the Segoditshane River Corridor was “a prime area expected to easily attract private finance” for its planned real-estate projects.
As some residents of Gaborone retrieve their vehicles from its murky waters and contemplate what the forecast of even more rainfall in the next few days means, few will be seeing Segoditshane River as anything but a problem child.
A problem child who tears into town, robs residents of their peace and their goods, then calmly takes his “loot” across the border to another country.
