03 Mar 2013

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has proposed over P5.4 billion for the ministry’s recurrent and development budget for the 2013/14 financial year.

Presenting his ministry’s budget proposals, Mr Peter Siele said under the recurrent budget of over P166 million, the department of Local Government’s Finance and Procurement Services had been allocated the largest share of over P3 billion to cover local authorities in revenue support grant and food supplies.

The department of Social services takes the next largest share of over P832 million which he said would cover the procurement of 30 000 blankets and 9918 radios for destitute persons and some old age pensioners who had no care.

Further, the minister has proposed a budget of over P296 million for the department of Tribal Administration to undertake countrywide maintenance of customary courts. The rest of the departments – five in all – will share the remaining P280 million plus. Under the development budget, the ministry will use over P1 billion to cover expenditures of the six mega projects which were delayed at the start of the current financial year, the minister has said.

He has also proposed over P580 million for the Ipelegeng programme out of which over P353 million will cover wages for labourers and supervisors whose rates he said would be increased.

The balance of over P227 million he said would be used to procure material as well as running and sustenance costs of the programme.

The village infrastructure programme has a proposed allocation of over P188 million to be used in the construction of Bobonong and Letlhakeng roads, Molepolole bus rank, Gumare internal roads and bus rank, as well as compensations for the completed Maun internal roads.

The ministry will also finance the implementation of rural water supply projects in Boteti’s northern cluster, Seronga-Gunotsoga-Beetsha-Gudigwa, the rehabilitation of Shakawe treatment plant and the construction of desalination plants at Radisele and New Xade.

The funds, the minister said, would also cover drilling and equipping of boreholes in North West, Central, Kweneng, Kgalagadi and Ghanzi districts.

Minister Siele also told Parliament that the Municipal services programme required P60 million for the construction of Palapye bus rank and procure furniture and equipment for the completed fire stations at Mochudi and Maun.

Further, he said the Social welfare programme needed P45 million to construct destitute persons’ houses countrywide.

The minister also requested over P17 million to be shared among remote area development programme, consultancies, rural administration centres, and customary courts to pay for different activities.

Meanwhile, the minister told Parliament that although the proposed development budget for the next financial year represented an increase of 24.9 per cent from last year’s revised budget, the increase did not cover new projects which he said remained deferred due to budgetary constraints.

The budget, he said would not be able to cover critical needs such as fire stations, rural administration centres, customary courts and village infrastructure. The projects, will be considered once the financial situation improved. ENDS