Africa-Press – Botswana. Stakeholders were brought together under one roof in Kanye to share ideas and solutions to persistent water shortages in the village.
During a consultative meeting in Kanye Thursday, Project Engineer from Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) Gaborone office Mr Robert Modise assured that the corporation had scheduled emergency works that would be carried out to strengthen some pipes and reduce pressure.
He said by March 2023 the tender would be awarded and work would start in April with completion scheduled for March 2024.
He explained that emergency work would be handed over in phases, noting that those completed first would be immediately commissioned.
“Upon completion of emergency works, the Moshupa-Kanye rehabilitation project will then commence under NDP 12. I am of the view that it will work for us to engage former Water utilities employees, especially in terms of zoning the process require people who have a history of the area,” he added.
For his part, the lead engineer at Kanye WUC Mr Patrick Lekote highlighted the challenge of ineffective distribution of water due to dilapidated old pipe networks.
Mr Lekote said they have visited different sites with former Water Affairs employees in an effort to get advice from them, with more visits on the schedule.
Earlier on, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs Dr Kekgonne Baipoledi attributed water shortage to old and dilapidated pipe networks and explained that water from the North-South carrier was sufficient. “The pipes are past their lifespan, some are rusty and others blocked while most had leakages,” he said.
He said the village had also grown as some of the pipes used catered for the size of the village at that time.
“Before the situation is addressed, we will continue supplying water with bowsers in different wards,” he said.
The meeting convener, Kanye South legislator Dr Lemogang Kwape said it was vital for all stakeholders to share experiences and ideas to arrest the situation.
He said since Water Affairs employees are said to be the ones who installed pipe networks in Kanye, they were best suited to shed light to the challenge which emanates mostly from the pipes.
“We believe their knowledge and skills could be helpful in coming up with a solution,” he said.
Dr Kwape highlighted that wards that were not previously affected, were now also faced with water shortage challenges.
Former Water Affairs employee Mr Tobakane Mokwena said due to the village’s landscape it was not easy for water to be distributed effectively, hence the need to divide the village into zones.
Mr Mokwena believed if they could work closely with WUC, a solution would soon be found.
Different speakers thanked Dr Kwape for bringing the stakeholders together, especially former Water Affairs employees. Southern District councillors and other government departments were also in attendance.
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