Africa-Press – Botswana. The Minister of Water and Human Settlement Mr Onneetse Ramogapi has acknowledged the severe water supply challenges in Lobatse, stating that the current supply of 15 million litters per day falls significantly short of the 21 million litres per day demand.
Answering a question in Parliament on Thursday, he said the deficit had been exacerbated by frequent power supply interruptions and pipe bursts. He noted that Lobatse and the surrounding areas, including the Good Hope District Service Centre, received 90 per cent of water from the Gaborone Waterworks Treatment Plant (GWWTP) in Gaborone, with the remaining 10 per cent from Nnywane Waterworks and boreholes.
Minister Ramogapi said the supply was distributed to Lobatse Township and 22 other villages. In response to plans for addressing the situation, the minister detailed infrastructure developments under the Lobatse Water Supply Master Plan (LWSMP).
He confirmed that a newly developed scheme from Gaborone Forest Hill Tank to Lobatse Northern Reservoir was complete and awaiting final handover and commissioning of ancillary installations.
This new scheme, he said would provide an alternative supply from the Mmamashia treatment plant, offering redundancy to mitigate disruptions to the older scheme from the Gaborone Waterworks treatment plant.
Mr Ramogapi explained that the Lobatse Water Supply Master Plan Project was anticipated to be completed by August 2025, with delays primarily attributed to the unavailability of water for commissioning the scheme.
The minister further elaborated on the water supply network, indicating that the GWWTP in Gaborone, through Boatle waterworks, supplies Otse, Mogobane, Ntlhantlhe, Magotlhwane, and Lekgolobotlo.
Furthermore, he said the supply then proceeds to Nnywane Waterworks, while the new scheme bypasses Nnywane and both proceed to Lobatse Township. The minister said from Lobatse, water services Molapowabojang, Kgomokasitwa, Digawana, Lorwana, Mogojogojo, and finally through Mogodi Reservoir to Goodhope, Gathwane, Lejwana, Kgoro, Pitsane, Dinatshana, Bethel, and Tlhareseleele.
He also stated that Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) had been actively working to improve service provision, with supply reportedly stabilised since March 2025.
However, he said the township experienced several unplanned disruptions in late February and early March 2025, primarily due to power outages at Mmamashia Treatment Plant 2 and Gaborone Waterworks Treatment Plant, power transmission issues at Nnywane Waterworks due to a failed transformer, and power cable failure at Boatle Waterworks.
Additionally, he said the pipe failures near Boatle on March and again after repairs further complicated supply.
Mr Ramogapi confirmed that during these disruptions, WUC prioritised supply recovery to critical facilities such as BMC, Athlone Hospital, Lobatse Secondary School and Sbrana Mental Hospital on March 6.
He said downstream areas like Digawana and its surroundings and Good Hope and its surroundings, were prioritised on March 7.
The minister said Pitsane and surrounding areas received priority on the morning of March 8, followed by Molapowabojang midday on March 8.
He said WUC has been rationing supply among various nodes, which has at times resulted in shortages.
Minister Mogapi was responding to a question from the Lobatse legislator, Mr Kamal Jacobs, who had asked if the minister was aware of water shortages in Lobatse and plans in place to address the situation.
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