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bridalpearlnecklace-blog · 7 years

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The village of Maboane pumps 22.3 million liters of water daily - enough to fill nine Olympic pools, but a drop of this water rarely falls in two thousand villages, Linda Qiu writes in an article published on the portal www.huffingtonpost.com .

Located about 60 kilometers north of Jwaneng, the world's richest diamond mine, Maboane is in the midst of a well field, which has drilled 27 wells for the twenty-four-hour operation of the Zhvaneng mine and for water supply to residents. Water is provided not only by Maboane, but also by the two nearest villages, a total of 9,500 people.

In view of the intensive use of water for industrial needs, the only water-dispensing column in Maboane intended for residents rarely works at full strength, months without water, and only occasionally water flows from it in a thin trickle. Every day men, women, children drive the asses, drawn in carts filled with empty cans. They stand in line, hoping to get their weekly rate. As a rule, they store up as much water as they can carry or take away on their wagon; Five days there may not be water, and during the rainy season, the stormy weather can stand for weeks.

"Last September and October were very bad. It rained for two weeks. The well broke down, but there was no electricity to pump out the water. There was no water for a month, "said Motshwanaesi Thuto, a self-employed resident of Maboane at the age of 30.

When the water flows, it is "unhealthy, very poor quality, especially near the column," where thirsty cattle and children gather around a dirty pool, according to Mokgele Motseona, the oldest villager and actual head of the village.

"It is clear that we suffer without water, and we can not do anything. Our government, the Zhvaneng mine - they do not do anything, "says Thuto.

A representative of Debswana, the parent company of the Zhvaneng mine, which is a partnership between De Beers and the government of Botswana, said that the company has no obligation to provide water for human settlements. "We drill wells for ourselves. This government or council is responsible for drilling water wells for them, so they should send their complaints to them, "said Esther Kanaimba-Senaishe to Mmegi in April 2013.

According to Botswana's national policy on settlements, any center with a population of more than 500 people has the right to state security, including access to water. Although the country occupies one of the first places in terms of access to clean drinking water on the continent, this "access" does not include a single column in the village. In addition, the head of the settlement of Mocion noted that even if the company Water Utilities Corporation brought the pipeline to the village, it still does not have enough water to feed it to individual houses.

"What's the point of having more pipes if they are dry, empty?" Said Thuto, a villager.

The rough diamonds

Thuto and the spiritual mentor in this locality, Mogomotsi Makgolele, agree that the Zhvaneng mine is at least partially responsible for the depletion of water reserves in this area. The Botswana Water Act of 1968 permits mining companies free and unrestricted use of water within their perimeter; For the Zhvaneng mine, this zone includes its northern borehole fields, which border Maobane. The Zhvaneng mine drilled an additional 10 wells around the village last year, according to the information of the head, and gave unfulfilled promises to build a school and a clinic for residents.

"They did not do anything. We were worried all the time while they were drilling, so we asked them every day how their business was progressing, and they said, "Oh, well." Now they have drilled, and their project is over. Now they do not talk to us. They're gone forever. We can not contact them, "he said.

When comments were directed to Debswana and the Zhvaneng mine, they did not answer.

Three of Debswana's four mines are completely dependent on groundwater; These include Zhvaneng, as well as Orapa (Orapa) and Letlhakane (Letlhakane), which spend more water than annually replenished. Since the cost of the hydrosystem is subsidized by the government (250 million pools or $ 2.9 million), then companies like Debswana do not have the incentive to use expensive equipment that allows long-term reliable use, says Roman Grynberg, senior researcher at the Institute for Development Policy Analysis of Botswana (Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis).

According to Greenberg, this made sense at the beginning of the diamond fever in Botswana, when there were three mines in a country that had just gained independence, and the industry needed help. Now that it has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world and there are 16 mines (and another 12 on the way), the policy of free unlimited access to water is "simply unreasonable and environmentally unsafe".

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