16 June 2025
China’s expertise in water infrastructure can help address Botswana’s water scarcity challenges, according to Onneetse Ramogapi, Botswana’s Minister of Water and Human Settlement. At the fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which opened last Thursday in the central Chinese city of Changsha, China and Botswana set about building partnerships to drive development.
The two countries’ cooperation covers mega-infrastructure projects, drought-resistant agriculture, and advanced wastewater management systems. In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Ramogapi said that China’s technology can help Botswana recycle wastewater.
“China can help us in our water reclamation mission, known as wastewater reclamation, whereby we recycle used water and then reuse it. China has that technology.
Currently, we have a so-called Glen Valley and all other areas that need the recycling of water. That is another area in which China can help us with that technology,” he said.
Ramogapi said he was looking forward to exploring various water projects with China focused on supply enhancement and wastewater treatment at the Expo.
“We also have the Chobe-Zambezi project, through which we seek to take water from the Chobe-Zambezi, a very, very big river in southern Botswana.
So this is where we see China also assisting us. Further to that, we hope China can lend a hand in the utilisation of our board of boreholes, where China helps us treat the water to ensure we have enough water,” the minister said.
Speaking about future cooperation, Ramogapi outlined a project aimed at combining renewable energy with water conservation.
“You know, there are so many projects. The other project that we are envisaging is whereby we will be coming up with floating solar panels; then we put them on dams so that they will reduce the evaporation of water. And if we put those solar (panels) on dams, it will also assist in providing power energy. By so doing, we will be saving a lot of power. So, the power that we need through coal, instead, we will generate it through a green technology by using solar panels. So these are the areas that we need,” he said.
Source: https://rb.gy/cre7np
