Francistown — Once upon a time, in a quiet and peaceful land on the banks of a beautiful Tati River, lived a people who had come from different parts of the country to start life in a new place.

Children played games and swam in the river, chanting rhymes and songs and laughing happily. The waters were fresh, clean and full of fish, frogs and tadpoles. The people were all happy, as the atmosphere was friendly. Then, one day came industrialisation and ever since, the river has been denied its pride and beauty.Today, Tati River, that runs across Francistown has in some places diminished to a stream. The dry riverbed has reeds, thickets eucalyptus, Mosu and syringa trees. The green grass has grown taller as it has been undisturbed. No sand, no happy frogs singing, no stagnant waters. Behind the Francistown Stadium, across the river lies the location of Bluetown and opposite are Area S and Monarch. Residents of these locations have too turned the river into a dumping area for cartons of Chibuku, broken chairs, carcass and garbage. John Motshewa, 78 has been a resident of Bluetown for over 40 years. He says that once upon a time, the river used to overflow and was a place to refresh the mind. As years elapsed, he said people started mining sand from the river and thus destroyed its aquatic life. He lamented that the once beautiful river has turned into something that he cannot even describe as a stream. He lamented that the river has become a hideout for thieves. Though the city council sometimes cuts and burns the reeds, he said this is not effective as the plants are not uprooted.

Another resident, Amos Munyamane, said that passing by the river reminds him of the good old days when he used to go swimming. "We used to dig small wells and source water from the river," added the 44-year-old father. He said that even when they have a shortage of water, they can no longer get supplies from the river because of its filthy state and diminished size.

Simangaliso Motshewa blamed those who mine sand from the river for the state of affairs. "It is no longer a river, rather a thicket," she said. She added that the sand is the key element that makes the beauty of the river. She said that the reeds have barred residents of the location from moving freely as they used to. Reeds that are said to have become a hiding place for thieves, more especially from Bluetown, have forced people to use longer routes rather than cross the river that separates the locations.

Omphile Mokwere of Environmental Heritage Foundation in Francistown said that the river carries different types of plant seeds as it flows and deposits them in riverbanks. The seeds then grow and some of the plants are not good for the environment within which people live. She said that the more river sand is mined, the more the river diminishes. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Archibald Ngakayagae, blamed those who mine sand for destroying the river. He said that the mining leaves only soil and this gives plants room to grow freely in rivers. He stated that currently, there is a law that forbids people from mining sand without permission. "Though we grant them places to mine, people then don't go as far as we want thus degrading rivers," he said. He said that there is always an impact assessment in every area they have permited people to mine sand. Illegal miners are said to be causing environmental degradation as they mine at any place. He said the environmental watchdog, (Green Scorpions) is meant to look at such problems. He added that people still lack training on environmental degradation. Ngakayagae said that Francistown is one of the luckiest cities to have rivers running across it and it is important to preserve them rather than only worrying about rivers in Chobe and Kasane.

"We want to diversify tourism through cultural tourism and also encourage sports tourism in such rivers," he emphasised. To preserve rivers, Ngakayagae said that they will continue to teach people on the importance of protecting rivers in their areas.