MAPUTSOE residents will get a reliable source of water after the World Bank last week officially opened a water supply project of eight boreholes worth an estimated M5.47 million.
business
Jan. 24, 2022
KABELO MASOABI
2 min read
Maputsoe residents get M5.5 million water supply
The water supply project in Maputsoe is being officially opened
Story highlights
The water project is also a shot in the arm for the workers in the Maputsoe textile factories
WASCO is also in the process of building another water processing plant in Ha Moholisa
The project commenced on June 7, 2021 and the water supply through a network of pipe connections will cover the villages of Ha Nyenye, Ha Chonapase, Ha 'Mathata, Ha Moholisa, St Monica's, Kholokoe and Ha Maqele amongst others.
The water project is also not only a shot in the arm for the residents but for thousands who work in the Maputsoe textile factories.
The construction of the boreholes was done by the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) under the supervision of the Lesotho Lowlands Water Supply Development Project (LLWSDPII) of the northern region.
Tieli ’Moleli, the WASCO Area Project Manager, said water supply to the local textile industry was a priority, adding that there was a daily demand of 8.5 mega-litres against the production of less than three mega litres currently supplied.
He said there was a need to increase the daily production to nine mega litres to accommodate the rapid growing population in the area due to urbanisation.
Mr ’Moleli said WASCO was also in the process of building another water processing plant in Ha Moholisa in response to the community outcry over the water scarcity in the area.
Kemiso Mosenene, the Minister of Water Affairs said the water project could not have been possible without the partnership between the Government and the World Bank, where 80 percent of water supply was eventually achieved in Maputsoe.
During the handover ceremony, Mr Mosenene said the current project was intended to reach a supply of five mega litres per day from which 55 000 people would get access to safe water, including the factories located in the area.
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A booming business of water sales by a few affording individuals who could manage to erect borehole pumps in their backyards existed in the area prior to this development and a lot of residents felt the pinch.
"We paid for water from a minimum of M2 depending on the size of the container,” said Kananelo Nkokoane, a resident of Ha 'Mathata.
“We have been doing it for a while now since the water crisis hit us. Most of us have the ordinary water taps erected at their homesteads, but they have been useless without water for many years now,” she said.
Tota Mohanoe of Ha Molahlehi said: "There have always been water problems here. Sometimes the water would only come out at night and stop after a short while.”
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