10 Oct 2024

Access to reliable water sources is a fundamental pillar necessary for advancing key developmental projects across the country.

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said it was for that reason that government was unrelenting in its implementation of major water projects countrywide. The President was speaking in Kanye yesterday during a site visit of Kanye Supply Distribution Rehabilitation Emergency Works project.

He said the successful delivery of the P396 million project in December this year would pave way for the implementation of other major projects in Kanye among them the construction of Kanye district hospital and the opening of the Kgwakgwe manganese mine, both billed to take off in the near future.

“Government views water and electricity as basic, yet very important amenities to which people should enjoy easy access.

And this is why government will continue to do our absolute best to make them available,” he said.

Dr Masisi called on Kanye residents to contribute to safeguarding the security of supply of  water as well as to help guarantee preservation of its quality by reporting to relevant authorities all incidents of tampering with the water infrastructure in the village.

“By doing so, you will help ensure that Botswana maintains its reputation among African nations for producing and distributing water of unmatched quality,” he said. President Masisi also appealed to residents to connect to the village’s sanitation network, which was built to enable proper management of wastewater especially since government was pushing for the nation to embrace the use of grey water.

To encourage residents to connect to the network, whose date of commissioning is set for October 23, he said government resolved to allow residents a 12-months exemption of the P1 500 connection fee that they were previously expected to pay to connect to the sewerage network.

He also thanked Kanye residents for the resilience they exhibited over the years when the village was contending with serious water shortages.

Lands and water affairs minister Dr Kefentse Mzwinila said while there had been delays in addressing Kanye water challenges since the start of the process back in 2018, it was encouraging that great strides had been made in the recent past.

He said government successfully augmented supply through reticulation of water from Mmamashia Water Treatment Plant and was currently working on water distribution across the village. 

Dr Mzwinila said adequate supply had then laid bare the fact that water distribution network in the village was worn out and resulted in the bulk of the water being lost through leakages, hence the implementation of the ongoing project to construct a new distribution network.

Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Gaselemogwe Senai said the ongoing project was initially scheduled to be completed this month but had been extended to December due to delays caused by several challenges including lengthy consultations with home owners to allow for the pipework to pass through their homes.

Mr Senai who said the project currently stood at 85 per cent completion, was optimistic that it would not go beyond the December extension period.

On Kanye’s water needs, he said the village required 17 million litres of water per day but currently used only 4.5 million litres a day while the rest was lost to leakages.

Kgosi Malope II of Bangwaketse welcomed the rehabilitation of Kanye water distribution network, saying it was gratifying that water scarcity that residents of Kanye had had to bear with for ages would soon be over. ENDS