18 Jun 2014

Government will clear out water bills for individuals who have been assisted through backyard gardens in the poverty eradication programme initiative.

The Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri said this when addressing kgotla meetings in Tsetseng, Tshwaane, Khekhenye and Dutlwe in the Letlhakeng Sub-district on June 16-17.

Mr Matlhabaphiri said this came after government realised that the bills were too stiff for the beneficiaries to clear and said as a remedy to prevent the situation re-occurring, government would install water tanks and pre-paid metres for the projects.

He said the beneficiaries would then use pre-paid water to maintain their gardens, something he said will be able to help them keep an eye on the water bills.

Mr Matlhabaphiri also informed residents that government would soon introduce the disability exemption identity card for all the citizens living with disability, which will make it easier for them to access areas such as health centres, banking as well as make it easier for them to benefit from social safety nets programmes.

Mr Matlhabaphiri therefore urged those staying with people with disabilities to register them so they could enjoy these benefits. 

He also informed residents of Tsetseng that government was aware that the implementation of some poverty eradication programmes was slow, and said the reason was mostly due to lack of human resource in government.

He was responding after the Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Direemang Kgolo requested that their village be provided with a social worker as they were currently covered by an officer based at Motokwe, and that the long distances made it difficult for the office to be more effective.

She said often the officer failed to visit their village because of lack of transport, and said that the availability of a social worker in their village would also help people appreciate that the office did not only deal with destitute and orphans, but has an array of other services as well.

Ms Kgolo also said the same situation applied to the youth officer as she was based in Takatokwane, saying government should either provide her with a vehicle or open another office in the village.

In his vote of thanks, the area MP, Mr Ngaka Ngaka informed residents of these villages that government was still grappling with fixing the Morupule B power project as it had been experiencing some technical challenges since its inception.

He said after fixing the problem it was then that government would continue its effort of electrifying more villages across the country. Mr Ngaka was responding after residents of Tsetseng, Tshwaane and Khekhenye requested for the electrification of their villages, saying lack of electricity made essentials such as computer literacy impossible. ENDS