26 Aug 2014

Kgosi Motsamai Kgosi of Kutamogoree has complained that they have a borehole in the village but they continue to experience shortage of water.

He said since the Water utilities Corporation (WUC) took over the water supply, they faced shortage of water, reasons being either a malfunctioning engine or lack of diesel.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting addressed by the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso in Kutamogoree recently, Kgosi Kgosi complained about the village youth who failed to use government programmes and instead resorted to alcohol and drug abuse.

He said the use of marijuana was rife in their village to the extent that young people had been deformed and looked very old when compared to their elders. In an effort to address the issue, he said the local authorities have tried to address the issue by encouraging the youth to make a living out of the government programmes.

Only few people have heeded the call to turn their lives around, he added.  Kgosi Kgosi nonetheless appreciated the government for coming up with programmes aimed at improving the lives of the people, noting that majority of people had engaged in such projects and had set up businesses in the village.

For his part, the village development committee chairperson, Mr Paul Magumi said Water Utilities Corporation had not been helpful and instead had aggravated the problem of water shortage.

He asked the government to post a social worker to their village, adding that currently, they were being served by an officer based in Mosetse who sometimes fail to visit because of shortage of transport.

In addition, the residents added that assessments for poverty eradication were taking long because the officer covers a vast area. One of the beneficiaries, Mr Dzanani Badi said he was taken for bakery training in Gaborone about six months ago and upon their return they were given incomplete packages that use electricity.

Mr Badi said Kutamogoree has no electricity and therefore he was unable to start operation. In  Lepashe, Ipelegeng employees complained that they were asked to work on weekends but were not paid their dues.

This, they added, was not fair because when they fail to come to work due to social problems they are not paid for such days. Furthermore, Mr Gabontwaele Duelang of Lepashe proposed that the government should partner with two mines of African Copper in Dukwi and Thakadu in Matsitama which use the road passing through their village to fence and tar it.

Such move, he added, would protect their livestock from the mine trucks. In response, assistant council secretary, Ms Kene Molulwane said with regards to weekend payments of Ipelegeng employees they look at the availability of funds and make sure they are paid but said they had asked them to volunteer their services as way of assisting those who are in need since they were constructing houses for disaster victims.

The assistant minister, however, said that they should be communication before they are engaged because they are only paid for 20 working days.

Ms Tshireletso also urged officers to always consult and give feedback to the people on any delays regarding poverty eradication packages or services. Ends