20 Aug 2014

The Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe has urged Batswana to take agriculture seriously  in order to produce enough food and reduce the import bill.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Sefhophe on August 18, Dr Kedikilwe said government was striving to make the country self-sufficient in the production of food through incentives such as the ISPAAD programme.

In addition, the Vice President said the Selebi Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) also came in handy to promote agriculture and provide a market for agriculture produce. 

He explained that SPEDU in collaboration with NFRTC were in the process of setting up a processing plant where agriculture produce would be processed into canned and bottled food. Dr Kedikilwe urged farmers to  make use of the facility.

On other issues, Vice President Kedikilwe called on residents of Sefhophe to refrain from deviant behaviour and vandalising private property. He expressed concern that people were vandalising Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) property and stealing power cables.

He said such behaviour was a setback because funds used to purchase or repair vandalised BPC equipment could have been used to bring other developments to the village. He also cautioned those who broke into peoples homes to steal their belongings to desist from such behaviour.

With regard to water supply and distribution, Dr Kedikilwe said the country would in the near future draw 495 million cubic litres of water from the Chobe/Zambezi River to irrigate agricultural fields in the Pandamatenga area. He said eight countries who have access to the perennial river came to the agreement.

He said Morupule B Power station in Palapye was back to normal after experiencing technical and mechanical challenges early this year. “Currently the power station is in full swing with all the four units producing 600 Mega Watts of electricity,” he said.

Furthermore, the Vice President said the government was in the process of setting up two more units that would produce 300 Mega Watts at the same place.  

In addition, he noted that plans were underway to set up another power station in Mmamabula, saying the aim was to produce 1 320 Mega Watts of electricity by 2018.

“The idea is that as more developments take place and new mines and industries emerge in the country, the government should have enough power to provide for the people and the projects taking place,” he said.

Dr Kedikilwe also touched on the issue of elections, explaining that the date for the 2014 elections has been set for October 24. He urged residents of Sefhophe to make sure that their Omang cards were in order as well as registration cards in order for them to be able to vote.

For their part, residents of Sefhophe showered Dr Kedikilwe with praises for serving them diligently for close to 30 years. They said he brought many developments to their village and other villages in the Mmadinare constituency which include electricity and portable water. 

Currently all villages in the Mmadinare constituency have been connected to the grid and have portable water. ENDS