WATER HAZARD
Monarch Councillor warns of overflowing Ntshe and Tati Rivers
Monarch North Councillor, Gopolang Almando, has appealed to parents in the location to keep a close eye on their children as the two rivers that sandwich Francistown’s oldest township look set to burst their banks.
In an impassioned plea, Almando urged parents to check on their kids every 20-30 minutes to ensure they have not snuck away to the inviting, yet extremely dangerous water sources.
“My worry is with the closure of schools this week, these youngsters have too much free time on their hands,” explained Almando.
The youthful Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) member, who shot a short video from Ntshe riverbank, noted the water had already covered most of the dry land on the banks and is flowing towards the homesteads.
“This is dangerous. As parents, we should all be concerned because we have built between two rivers which are now overflowing. I would not encourage sending kids on errands at times like these because they’ll use this opportunity to go to the river!” warned the concerned Councillor.
With the rains that have soaked Francistown for the best part of a week forecast to continue until at least the weekend, the swelling waters and their currents are set to get stronger before they rescind
With the rains that have soaked Francistown for the best part of a week forecast to continue until at least the weekend, the swelling waters and their currents are set to get stronger before they rescind.
Monarch went through a regeneration after the government availed funds in 2008 to develop infrastructure, which included upgrading and building of roads, sewerage system, water reticulation lines, the building of proper streets, street-lights, and the construction of a bridge joining the township with Bluetown.
Despite its vicinity to both Tati and Ntshe rivers, the township has since been able to withstand heavy showers after the construction of culverts to transport water away from homesteads.