04 Dec 2014

Tsonyane is not a recognised Remote Area Dweller (RAD) settlement; hence residents are encouraged to from groups or syndicates so that they can be assisted with water under the Small Herd Programme under the Ministry of Agriculture, among other benefits.

Answering a question in Parliament, the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso said Betesankwe was now a recognised RAD settlement; as such, the Southern District Council (SDC) did not hand over the borehole there back to Water Utilities Corporation for use to water livestock under the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP). 

Ms Tshireletso said her ministry through the SDC considered the proposed budget for inclusion in the budget for 2015/16 financial year and the final estimates can only be ascertained once the budget is finalised. 

Kanye South MP had asked the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to state efforts made to assist farmers in poor communities of Tsonyane and Betesankwe in the Southern District, whose livestock was denied water from boreholes that were now under the Water Utilities Corporation. 

He had further asked the minister about the status of Betesankwe to be recognised as a settlement and also state the initial development due for the village in the 2015/2016 Financial Year and the total amount estimated for such developments.  ENDS