Several families were left homeless in Maun after the heavy rains which cut across Disaneng ward on Sunday afternoon, damaging property along the way and displacing many. Disaneng is an un serviced area in Maun behind Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital where thousands of residents from Botshabelo and a part of Moeti wards were relocated en-mass in 2011 to pave way for the expansion of Maun airport. These are the same residents who have for some years decried the lack of amenities such as access roads, the provision of basic needs such as water and electricity among others, but to date their pleas have not been attended to. Most of them have been allocated plots on flood plains.
On Monday morning an emergency district disaster committee meeting was called by Deputy District Commissioner Keabetswe Lesiela to address the plight of affected residents, most of whom were left without shelter and food. Lesiela told the meeting that at the moment their intention is to mobilize their staff at council and for the Social and Community Development (S&CD) department to assess the situation to determine the extent of damage and how the affected families may be assisted. He said being a built up area, Disaneng also has a very poor drainage system, which is the reason why too much water had jammed on people’s yards.
“Our worry as the disaster committee is that we may have more people needing assistance than we think. And so we will rely on a report from S&CD as it will be the only guiding tool. We are also worried that this is a rainy season, and so if it is to continue, then we might have more people rendered homeless. We have since notified the school head at Disaneng Primary School that should the situation spiral out of control, we may have to evacuate some families to her school. We will also liaise with social workers and Village Development Committees in the periphery of Maun so they could let us know if they have had same experiences. Subsequently this will put us in a good position to know if we should send part of the committee to go and offer a helping hand, should there be that need. In the past, we have collaborated with the Disaster Management Office in Maun, and they have always been helpful with information and early warnings whenever there were expected rains or in some instances, floods. It is unfortunate that they might have not seen this one coming”, he said.
Speaking at the same meeting was Maun Administrative Authority Senior Council Secretary Masiela Mandozi who said many people still do not comply with council specifications for building houses in planning areas, hence the crisis always experienced in Maun whenever disaster strikes. The other contributing factor is that being a new area, it is very difficult for council to appropriately monitor the place because of certain sections which are non-reachable. He said some developments in Disaneng have been on-going without the knowledge of council, adding that in such instances, they usually do not issue occupation permits as they need to be convinced that the houses have been inspected and are in a good condition.
He said “The whole of Maun is a planning area. And our expectation is that people wishing to construct houses, be it residential or multi residential in such an area should know and understand all building controls. We also expect them to always check with council by way of inspections to see if they are doing the right thing and following right channels, failing which we will continue charging them P120.00 per day up until they re-construct or attend to defects found in their houses. I must confess also that we have come to realize that most house constructions, not only in the Disaneng area, but Maun in general, are so sub standard and therefore need to be closely monitored every now and then before it is too late”.
