27 Mar 2014

Councillors in Gaborone have resolved to reconsider the council's position to engage small scale contractors in the collection of litter in Gaborone.

The resolution came after Councillor Oabile Mafunga of Naledi Central proposed that the matter be revisited to address the waste management in the city saying the waste management situation in Gaborone was not under control.

Supporting the proposal was Mr Rupert Hambira (nominated) and Village ward councillor, Seabelo Thekiso who argued that the matter be revisited and implemented forthwith.

Councillor Mafunga’s proposal followed a pronouncement by the mayor, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa in his speech when opening the first ordinary session of the Gaborone City Council (GCC) meeting that a decision had been reached by the council management to put on hold this initiative whilst further interrogations were conducted to map out a hassle free operational scheme.

Councillor Nkaigwa had also stated that although it was true that in the past, it was indicated that small contractors were going to be enlisted to collect waste in Gaborone, prefeasibility studies have revealed that small scale contractors, much as they are viable in other settings, they may not be a good option for the city.

This was because in Gaborone, waste was collected from each and every plot, hence the volume of waste generated is quite large while in other districts they only service paid up clients hence for this noble idea to work well, it needs to be re- defined so that it goes well with the setting of Gaborone.

On other issues, Councillor Mafunga said for one to be employed in the Ipelegeng programme, he/she needs to be having equipment (s), either a spade or a sweeping broom. For his part, Ledumang Councillor Dominic Gombalume complained that resources are not distributed equally in Gaborone, citing that Gaborone North was being side-lined.

He also complained that old projects are being dumped unfinished adding that storm water drainage systems in Gaborone North was a serious problem. Councillor Chanungwa Mphusu said the Mayor’s speech left behind a lot of burning issues that include establishment of Bill Boards in all entries of Gaborone, issues regarding foreign trips the progress in establishing a private company to help generate income and cut its dependence on central government funding.

Councillor Mphusu also and Councillor Ephraim Mabengano spoke at length about the new Botswana National Service Programme saying this is just a duplicate of the former Tirelo Sechaba programme.

In one of his responses, the Mayor Mr Nkaigwa said it was not true that developments were not being distributed on equal basis. He said before any project can be undertaken, it is being implemented by council committees. Ends