Summer is edging ever closer
The days are gradually heating up, with the warmer weather hinting at the start of a new season and the promise of good times to come.
For many long-suffering residents in Maun’s Wenela ward, however, the hotter days bring with them a smelly problem that makes their lives a misery.
They are in little doubt at the source of the stink – the nearby Botswana Defence Force camp.
“The stench coming from this army barracks is way too strong especially in summer. Even when we close windows it just comes through. The whole house becomes unbearably stinky,” explained David Morerwa.
The 53-year-old urged the Ministry of Justice and Defence to relocate residential homes from the area to save them from the foul smell.
“They should move residential plots far from the barracks. That would probably save us from inhaling this badly polluted air,” moaned Morerwa.
Voicing a similar complaint, another living in the location, Kesaobaka Serero, 29, said the smell is so bad it even causes them to lose appetite.
“When you think you have cooked the best smelling dish, it gets spoilt by the air. During summer we are even afraid to invite visitors to our houses for fear that they may think we fail to clean up well. Imagine bringing a brand new boyfriend to a house smelling kak..aah, we need help!” said Serero, who asked The Voic enot to take his picture.
Not all Wenela residents are in agreement, however, with Gobakwaone Mosika insisting the pong was in the past.
“In recent years, we have been breathing clean air in the BDF neighbourhood. Yes, some years back the BDF camp used to produce an extremely foul smell, but not anymore. I don’t know what they have done but things have definitely improved,” maintained the 34-year-old.
Mosika says the only odour they struggle with now emanates from pit-latrines and leaking drains in the neighbourhood.
Just last week, Maun East Member of Parliament (MP), Goretetse Kekgonegile asked Minister of Defence and Security to brief Parliament on the sewage arrangements at Maun BDF camp.
In particular, he wanted to know: how the camp disposes sewage, the engagement that took place with households adjacent to the BDF sewage tanks, how the BDF deals with the extreme smell affecting households near the sewage tanks and compensation paid to these households to help them ease the health ills caused by such a stench.
In response, Minister Kagiso Mmusi assured the MP that since they installed bioreacter in the conservancy tanks at the camp in April 2017, the terrible aroma rarely occurs anymore.
“There were complaints from people residing next to the camp before the installation of the bioreactor. However, since this development to address the deficiency of conservancy, neither the BDF nor the Ministry has received any complaints up to date. It must be noted that the solution to the offensive sewage smell that led to the installation of the bioreactor was a result of the consultative process with local communities around the Camp,” mentioned Mmusi, adding the only time a bad smell escapes is when there is a breakdown in the system.
“Such occurrences are a rarity and are often quickly resolved,” he stressed, explaining the bioreactor biologically treats the sewage.
“It has the capacity of efficiently treating 20 cubic meters of wastewater on a daily basis. The effluent is tested regularly and has shown to meet the effluent standards of BOBS93:2001. The effluent is used for irrigation in the camp. It must be noted that wastewater treatment plants by their nature have a smell which however is not objectionable.”
Prior to this, sewage trucks were used to empty the conservancy tanks and dispose into the Maun Municipal wastewater treatment plant.
Finally, on the issue of compensation, Mmusi said there was in fact no such issue.
“No claims have been received at any time from local community having suffered adverse health situations that may be linked to the sewage smell from the camp,” he concluded.
