25 Sep 2014

Chobe District is faced with shortage of local suppliers for small stock. 

This, therefore led to a situation where sourcing of livestock took place outside the district. The Chobe District council chairman, Mr Mwanota Kachana said the Ministry of Agriculture managed to supply four beneficiaries with a total of 68 small stock at a cost of P50 400. 

He made these observations at the full council meeting recently.cMr Kachana said government had commissioned a pilot project in the north western region, to implement Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).

“This is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to completely eliminate the habit of people relieving themselves in public,” he said. 

He added that training for trainers of trainees was conducted in Maun where the Chobe district was capacitated in preparation for the commencement of the project. CLTS, he said, triggers the community’s desire for collective change, propels people into action and encourages innovation, mutual support and appropriate local solutions, thus leading to greater ownership and sustainability. 

Furthermore, he said at the heart of the CLTS project was the recognition that merely providing toilets did not guarantee their use, nor result in improved sanitation and hygiene. 

Regarding Ebola, Mr Kachana said the District Health Management Team has come up with a preparedness plan that will deter the spread of the disease. He said the plan will insure that the district manages and controls all confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola.

He noted the plan will include training of staff, mobilising necessary resources and strengthening stakeholder collaboration on the containment of the Ebola infections.

In addition, he said a new global educational programme, Connecting Classrooms, has been designed to assist young people to interact globally to improve their education welfare.

“Through this programme, international partnership with schools in Africa and the United Kingdom will be formed and basic information communication technology skills will be developed,” Mr Kachana said.  He explained that the programme will be implemented in the current financial year in the Chobe region. 

“Kasane Primary School has been earmarked as an ICT hub for implementation of the programme,” he said. 

He explained that a classroom has been identified for the project and twenty computers will be connected for usage and about twenty five teachers from the district have been trained by the British Council on the programme. ENDS