Africa-Press – Botswana. Water bowsing is done on a full-time basis to augment water supply at Makopong, Draaihoek and Kokotsha.
Responding to question without notice from Kgalagadi South MP, Mr Sam Brooks on Monday, the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule said a long-term solution to the current problem would be the development of a water supply scheme from Werda wellfield to the three villages that is expected to be funded under National Development Plan 12 (NDP12).
Mr Pule said Makopong had two operational boreholes with daily yield of 0.096 million litres against the daily demand of 0.210 million litres.
He said Draaihoek was supplied by a borehole producing 0.048 million litres per day against the daily demand of 0.125 million litres.
Therefore, Mr Pule said water bowsing was done to the two villages to supplement the supply shortage.
“Kokotsha village with a daily demand of 0.165 million litres of water per day does not have an operational borehole, hence bowsing is undertaken on full time basis,” he said.
Mr Pule said water bowsing was done through two 20 cubic meters private bowsers trucks and the other two 12 cubic meters Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) bowser trucks as a short-term plan to adverse water shortage in the three villages.
“The bowsing companies are not permanently engaged but they are given one and a half month contracts on a rotational basis to empower Batswana owned bowsing companies. Bowsing is done temporarily as a relieve measure while awaiting implementation of a long term solution,” he said.
He said three private water boreholes were currently being connected to the supply network to augment water supply to the villages of Makopong and Draaihoek. He explained that the first borehole was pump tested on November 13 and failed to perform as expected while the second borehole performed well.
“It has been connected to the village tank from December 02 with a yield of 5.2 cubic per hour improving the water situation in the two villages of Makopong and Draaihoek. The third borehole pump testing commenced on December 11 and it is expected to be completed by December 28,” he said.
He added that WUC would drill another borehole at Draaihoek to augment supply from the existing borehole, noting that two local water surveying companies had been engaged on November 15, to survey site two water drilling sites as an emergency project.
The project is anticipated to be completed by the end of December. Mr Pule said construction of a desalination plant at Kokotsha had been budgeted for the in the coming financial year to desalinate water from the two high yielding boreholes at Kokotsha to augment supply to the village.
Making a follow-up to the answer, Sefhare/Ramokgonami MP, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang stated that the question posed by MP Brooks was a reaction to the current situation at the three villages.
Dr Gobotswang observed that the results of the Housing and Population census must be used to guide and ascertain the projected demand of water or any other service rendered to the community at certain locality as it was the case of water supply to the three villages.
Dr Gobotswang advised that for future planning purposes, the available results of studies must be fully taken into consideration to avoid severe shortages in supply of basic necessities such as water. He said it was unfortunate that despite having such data to guide the development agenda and service delivery, government appeared to be caught off-guard therefore being reactional rather proactive.
Mr Pule concurred that the whole idea of a Housing and Population Census was to collect data to guide the development plan as it gave a projection of the numbers of people that would require a service.
However, Mr Pule said even though government planning was guided by such data, planning was obstructed by challenges that were never anticipated.
MP Brooks, had asked the Minister of Lands and Water Affairs if he was aware of water challenges at Makopong, Draaihoek and Kokotsha and wanted the minister to state what was being done to address the situation.
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