07 Sep 2014

Kweneng District council secretary, Mr Wadza Tema has said village development committees (VDC) are supposed to work hand in hand with the council, and therefore should desist from attacking each other during kgotla meetings addressed by ministers and members of parliament.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting in Letlhakeng recently, Mr Tema said they had formulated a new executive committee that consisted of members of the VDC and council officials, which will enable the two to sit and discuss issues at all times.

He said he will organise a workshop for VDCs around the district to inform them in depth about the new committee and its functions, and that the new arrangement gave the council the powers to audit VDC financial books.

Mr Tema therefore advised VDCs to always engage both the councils senior management and social workers about any challenges they encounter in their daily operations.

In other matters, Mr Tema said destitution, which was a challenge across the country, seemed to be high in the Letlhakeng sub-district. He said this was to some extent a result of the reluctance of people to assist their relatives who are in need. 

He urged the residents to revive the spirit of compassion as this will help relieve government of the number of needy persons that need to be supported.

He said this will in turn free up some government funds that can be used in other development projects as government spends P8.6 million in caring for the needy in the area.

Giving the statistics for the Letlhakeng Sub district, Mr Tema said there is a total of 1 556 destitute persons and 1 161 orphans as well as 2 092 people engaged under Ipelegeng programme.

He also urged residents of Letlhakeng to choose long lasting projects under Ipelegeng and desist from short term projects like grass cutting. 

He informed them that Kweneng District Council has a challenge of lack of funds as they have been allocated a budget of P309 million against the requested P552 million.

He said this therefore means that some development projects that people in the area have requested would not be realised soon, which calls for patience. Ends