26 Jun 2014

Gaborone mayor, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa says there is a general consensus that Gaborone City Council (GCC) should outsource some of its recreational parks to the private sector.

Addressing the city council full meeting on June 23, Mr Nkaigwa said the decision was taken after the signing of an agreement with the city of Maputo following a bench marking mission there a recently.

Mr Nkaigwa said it must be noted that most of the parks were white elephants as well as not being safe and secure for the general public to use.

He said GCC intended to promote recreation in the city by outsourcing such recreational facilities adding that Botswana needed a vibrant city with livable places of recreation. Gaborone parks need to operate like businesses, he added.

He said residents would still access the recreational services for free but with established businesses in these parks. 
The mayor said Batswana could be enjoying the FIFA World Cup at these recreational parks.

He said running parks like businesses will help Gaborone City Council in raising more income and creating more employment opportunities for the many unemployed youth.

Mr Nkaigwa, however, said not much had been achieved in outsourcing such services due to bottlenecks from central government adding that they have long requested for the title deeds for the parks that were intended for outsourcing and to date they have not received any.

On other issues, Mr Nkaigwa said it was never the intention of Gaborone City Council leadership to introduce Parking Management System in the City but this would create a strong revenue base for our council. He said GCC has long submitted bye laws since early 2012 and to date it has not received any approval due to government bureaucracy.

The mayor also noted that in an effort to grow revenue base, Gaborone City Council proposed to transform its outdoor advertisement Bye-Laws so as to generate more revenue in the industry and create more business opportunities hence create employment opportunities in the city.

The new bye law incorporates other forms of advertisement such as advertisement on private property, sky advertisement, transit advertisement and street pole advertisement.

Regarding the proposed Cemetery and Informal Sector Bye laws, Mr Nkaigwa said these are some of the bye laws that GCC has to help shape the city but they can only be operational on approval by the Minister. “It is our believe as Gaborone City Council Councillors that due to the fact that the city is growing and we are challenged with shortages of land, there is need to properly and efficiently utilise the little land in our possession,” he added.

The Cemetery Bye Laws propose new burial laws which will help in efficient land management because more than one person will be buried in one grave.

Furthermore, in an attempt to address the outlook of the city and also come up with a proper management system for the informal sector, GCC proposed for the informal sector bye-laws but due to government bureaucracy, he said, they are still waiting for their approval. ENDS