The recent water shortages in some parts of Maun have been blamed on electrical cable theft at Shashe Wellfield this past weekend.
The Shashe wellfields which is one of the water supply sources for Maun, has a total of 7 boreholes out of which 4 are powered by the electricity grid. The wellfield has been the primary source of supply to Maun since the mid 1980’s and accounts for over 75 percent of the water currently supplied. The other sources are Sexaxa wellfield, Borolong Water Treatment Plant and the Kunyere wellfield.
Maun Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) General Manager, Paul Mafavuneh has confirmed that there were electrical cables that were stolen from the 4 boreholes. He said they came to the realisation about the theft on Monday morning during a site visit.
According to him, the culprits stole prepaid meters that are supplied by the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and M3 boxes which are the breaker boxes. He explained that major breakdowns are not only creating an acute water shortage but also causing damage to pumping machines due to jerks they received by sudden power breakdowns.
Mafavuneh explained that the incident led to extreme low pressure but the situation improved following the intervention by their team. He has however indicated that the repair works are still ongoing to ensure a full recovery of supply. Mafavuneh had previously given an assurance that the water supply would fully recover this month in Maun but cable theft has since affected their plans.
Mafavuneh said while they have previously had no security deployed to guard the Shashe wellfields, they have since engaged a private security company to provide the services following the weekend incident.
Meanwhile, the WUC has since lodged a police report on the matter, and investigations have since been started in a bid to arrest the perpetrators.
Members of the public have urged to contact Maun Police if they have information that could lead to the arrest of the culprits. This will help curb unnecessary water shortages caused by theft.
