Watching the rain fall down

“In the future, you will be flushing that water and also drinking it later on,” said former PS Paya a few decades ago. Then, every residential and most business structures featured gutters, allowing for easy rainwater harvesting. Old, whitewashed and weather beaten government buildings featured the simple, water-saving additions.

“People are asking what the future for water is in Botswana. Before talking about infrastructure, we must address rainwater harvesting,” says former Minerals, Energy and Water Resources permanent secretary, Boikobo Paya.