Mathatisi Sebusi
THE Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) has been grilled by the Natural Resource Cluster Committee over its failure to connect water supplies to the Ha Matholoana community and its surrounding villages despite funds being set aside for the project.
Ha Matholoana and the other 19 villages are located along pipelines that transfer water from Metolong Dam to Maseru and Morija, among other areas. The communities were initially connected to the water system. However, due to a faulty water transfer system, the communities have been without water for the past two years.
WASCO was this week forced to commit to restore water supply to Ha Matholoana and surrounding communities by the end of December 2024.
WASCO’s pledge follows a petition by these communities to the Natural Resource Cluster Committee, urging intervention to ensure that the Ministry of Natural Resources and WASCO restore their water supply.
Speaking on behalf of the 19 communities around Metolong, where residents currently have water taps that remain dry, Malamang Ramanki informed the committee that it has been two years since Ha Matholoana and its neighbouring communities had water.
Their taps were installed by a contractor engaged by Rural Water Supply, who left the villages upon completing the installation, stating that his work was done.
Two years later, the communities still have no water. Mr Ramanki explained that they reported the matter to the Ministry of Natural Resources and WASCO but received no action, which led them to petition the Natural Resource Cluster Committee for intervention.
Mr Ramanki said the communities would have no objection to being billed for water, as long as they have a reliable supply.
The Natural Resource Cluster Committee chairperson, Moeketsi Motšoane, raised concerns about why the villages have no water despite the contractor being funded to complete the job. He demanded an explanation as to why there is still no water when a contractor was engaged and paid to ensure the communities’ water needs were met.
“How come there is still no water in these places when a contractor was engaged and paid for the job? Who is at fault now that money has been paid, but there is still no water?” Mr Motšoane asked.
Mr Motsoane requested that WASCO make a formal commitment before the committee and provide a timeline for restoring water supply to the affected communities.
In response, WASCO Chief Executive, Falla Seboko, informed the committee that the petition by the communities coincided with the start of restoration efforts in the 19 villages around Ha Matholoana. He said that WASCO had already managed to restore water supply in seven of these villages and promised that, within two months, all 19 villages will have water once again.
Mr Seboko attributed the water supply interruption to a faulty system installed by a contractor hired by Rural Water Supply. He explained that the valve used by the contractor was not delivering water to all villages, reaching only a few.
WASCO has since ordered a new valve, which will be installed as soon as it arrives, and Mr Seboko assured the committee that water problems will soon be a thing of the past for the affected communities.
Apart from the faulty system, Mr Seboko blamed extensive vandalism of the water infrastructure, which WASCO is also working to repair.
Additionally, Mr Seboko explained that billing discrepancies have exacerbated the problem, with some households having water meters while others do not. This situation caused friction between WASCO and the communities, as some residents questioned why they had to pay for water while others received it for free. WASCO has decided to take over the project from Rural Water Supply, ensuring that all households will be billed equally for their water consumption.
Ha Matholoana Councillor, Lefu Fetjane, confirmed before the committee that WASCO was actively working to restore water in Ha Matholoana and surrounding villages, and that water supply had already been restored in seven villages.
Upon hearing this, Mr Motšoane advised the community representatives to exercise patience and follow the appropriate channels for addressing development issues, rather than immediately petitioning Parliament. He suggested that they should have consulted WASCO and the Ministry of Natural Resources first, as they would have learned that work to restore the water supply was already underway.
“You should have consulted WASCO and the Ministry of Natural Resources before coming here. If you did that, you would have been informed that work to restore the water supply is already underway. Now it appears that you came here because of personal interests,” Mr Motšoane said.
