08 Jan 2025

Residents of Tlhareseleele are struggling with flash flooding that have engulfed their village from  recent rains. 

According to some residents,  parts of the village usually got immersed in water every time there was a downpour. 

They said this was due to poor storm water drainage system in their village.

 One of the residents, Ms Rebecca Motaung lamented that ever since a tarred road was constructed in their village, it seemed like the company that did the job failed to consider such eventualities. She said culverts in the village were very small and most of the time the water ended up going over them causing destruction in their homesteads.

 Ms Motaung said water flooded their homes on Tuesday just after sunset and kept them awake all night as they struggled to keep it away from their houses. 

She said she was forced to chop a hole on the boundary wall to make way for the water as it was threatening to get inside her house. 

Ms Motaung said all her chickens were swept away by the water, adding that they could not use their vehicles as they were stuck in the water. Some residents said  it was not the first time they  had complained about the situation, but relevant authorities seemed not interested in helping them. 

They pointed that they had a similar problem in 2022 and people from the Roads Department promised to come up with a solution and they were still waiting on them. The Community Development Officer, Ms Felicia Thebe said six homesteads were affected but the occupants were  safe. Ms Thebe explained that water entered the homesteads and killed chickens in some instances. She said they would continue observing the situation. 

The acting District Commissioner, Mr Goaletsa Keitumetse, said they were aware of the flooding situation in the Tlhareseleele. 

Mr Keitumetse pointed that they had noted  concerns of the public and a contract had been issued to Steel Base construction company to rectify the storm water drainage situation. 

“The first company did not do a good job and now the maintenance job has been awarded to Steel Base and once they are done, we hope the situation would normalize,” he noted. 

He said the company was doing maintenance from Tlhareseleele to Mabule and they were optimistic that the situation would be rectified soon. ENDS