15 Apr 2014

Bobirwa Sub-district's senior assistant council secretary has admitted that the delay in the construction of Bobonong access roads is a cause for concern.

Mr Lopang Pule nonetheless said the delay was not deliberate because ZAC Construction, which had been contracted to carry out the P250 million access roads and associated works, was experiencing shortage of gravel known as G4.

Mr Pule was addressing concerns raised by residents of Bobonong on April 14 that there was a delay in the construction of the access roads during a kgotla meeting addressed by the Member of Parliament for Bobirwa. The project started in April last year.

He said the contractor had prospected for the G4 gravel in the areas around Bobonong and hit blanks, adding that some sites had been spotted nearer to Tsetsebye where samples had since been taken for testing.

Failure to source the G4 gravel would force the contractor to use crusher run as an alternative, he stated. The officer also denied that the contractor was way behind the schedule, but said the latest information indicates that it was three weeks behind the schedule and was expected to complete the project in 2016.

Despite the absence of the gravel, he said, construction was ongoing at some sites within the village.

Mr Pule said during the construction, the contractor is required to monitor dust and put signs not to disturb the day to day lives of the people and added that the council would continue to inform residents concerning the scope of the project.

Mr Pule also pleaded with parents to look after their children and those under their care. He said social workers’ responsibility was to facilitate programmes put forward to assist those that needs their services but not to take the responsibility of parenting.

One resident had complained that lawlessness and continued moral degradation among children was catalyzed by the interference especially from social workers.

However, Mr Pule said social workers were not supposed to take parenting roles and disturb the organisation and running of the families, but to provide assistance wherever it was required.

He expressed concern that some parents neglect their parenting duties and use the Children’s Act as a stumbling block that hinders them from executing their duties.

Still at the meeting, Matshekge Senior Secondary School head, Mr Baboloki Bajiti was concerned about truancy and high pregnancy rates.

Last year, 34 students dropped out of school due to pregnancy and this year from January to April, 23 students have since dropped out, he told residents.

He said the numbers were high because students were left alone while parents were at farms and thus, pleaded with parents to monitor their children.

Mr Bajiti further explained that there were tendencies by some students of faking disease attacks during examinations, diseases which once taken to hospitals, are never detected.

He said such students claim to be blind or harassed by evil spirits within the school premises, something which he said was false.

He said all these happen because some students were terrified by examinations which they would have not prepared for and come up with excuses for their failures. 

On the matter of reported illnesses, 11 students last year claimed to be sick but the doctors dismissed such claims, he said.

Area MP Mr Shaw Kgathi, also acting Minister of Presidential and Public Administration also expressed concern about poor school results at both primary and secondary schools. He pleaded with parents to take education as an investment on their children.

On an issue concerning civil servants salaries, Mr Kgathi said government spends P16 billion on workers’ salaries annually which means that five per cent of the population enjoys a huge share of the national budget.

He said while other countries retrenched their staff at the height of the economic recession, Botswana saved her work force and therefore, could not afford to increase salaries by 17 per cent as demanded by the unions.

Mr Kgathi said the workers’ demands even exceeded the development budget and acknowledged that while the negotiations were ongoing, government has decided to increase salaries by 4 percent. ENDS