17 Sep 2014

Hukuntsi Sub District, vice council chair, Mr Odirile Moumakwa has decried the ageing and shortage of government fleet in Kgalagadi.

Addressing councillors during the sub-council meeting in Hukuntsi, Mr Moumakwa said the sub district was facing shortage of transport due to the ageing fleet which spends time in workshops hence a delay in service delivery and project implementation.

He said sometimes it was almost impossible for government policies and programmes to reach the desired beneficiaries particularly in settlements since government departments in Kgalagadi were operating without vehicles.

He said 21 government vehicles were with the Kang CTO for repairs thus leaving the sub-district to operate with only 22 vehicles.

One area of concern, he said, was the reluctance of some government departments to open accounts with CTO for their funds which lead to the delay in maintenance of their fleet and an exhaustion on CTO coffers since CTO would have to assist those departments.

He added that council was also experiencing the same problem as it has a fleet of 95 vehicles of which 50 per cent were over 10 years.

He said the sub council has only managed to procure 10 new vehicles from the 2012 savings due to financial constraints.

He said three vehicles were donated by the contractor following the completion of Hukuntsi internal roads. He said a tipper truck was obtained from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development as well as the Kgalagadi District headquarters.

He highlighted that the situation was worsed by the difficult terrain in the region that results in a number of breakdown and shortens the vehicles lifespan.

With regard to the roads situation in the sub district, Mr Moumakwa explained that the council roads division was currently involved in compaction of gravel roads in Hukuntsi and neighbouring villages. He, however, noted that the project was hampered by the frequent breakdown of machinery.

Furthermore, he said a request for vehicles has been approved and that tender preparations were at an initial stage.

In his comment, Lokgwabe councillor, Mr Aidoo Leshope applauded the civil service in Kgalagadi for their dedication towards empowering the local communities despite the limited resources at their disposal.

He called for the increase on government fleet during the general elections to insure a successful election process. ENDS