22 Jul 2014

Old age pensioners in the Francistown South constituency say all senior citizens should get radios provided by government instead of only a certain category.

The pensioners appealed to President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama during one of his walk abouts in Francistown recently.

Sixty-eight-year-old Mr Tebalo Tafila, who said he survived by working for the Ipelegeng programme, said although he was employed, he could not afford a radio set. He commended the President for giving pensioners radios, saying such gadgets enabled them to listen and know about government programmes and policies.

Mr Tafila complained that he was denied the opportunity to compete in the President Day’s music competitions by the organisers as they did not register him.

With his segaba, he said he could have tried his luck at the first prize money, which could have helped him to renovate his house that has been damaged by rains. He also complained that at Ipelegeng, they were not issued with protective clothing even though  they were exposed to hazardous substances and situations.

Another pensioner, Ms Lucy Mosinyi, aged 94, appealed to the President for help to get her old age pension money.

She said BotswanaPost told her that her name was automatically deleted from their system.

Ms Mosinyi said she did not understand because she was still alive and had never defaulted in collecting her pension until last September when she was told her name had been deleted from their system. Ms Elizabeth Baruti asked the President for assistance with roofing material for her house as she lived in fear, particularly that the rainy season is approaching.

In his response, President Khama said his office would liaise with relevant authorities to see to it that they got assistance. He tasked former district commissioner, Ms Sylvia Muzila to get a radio for Mr Tafila. ENDS