13 Mar 2013

The MP for Gaborone North, Mr Keletso Rakhudu has urged the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism to expedite the completion of the Gaborone sewerage treatment plant.

He was debating budget proposals for the ministry in Parliament on March 12. Mr Rakhudu said there was need for pit latrines to be phased out in Gaborone as they polluted the environment and water table.

 He said Batswana underestimated the impact of used oil pollution on the environment as they used it to fight termites.

 Mr Rakhudu, who is also the Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, urged the minister to consider introducing alternative sources of energy such as solar, saying it was abundant in the country.

 He said solar energy could be promoted by giving farmers a subsidy to use it to pump water from boreholes.

 He also decried the fact that stubborn and foreign weeds had taken over pastures and called on the ministry to intensify its fight to control the weeds.

 He also urged the minister to continue engaging CITES on the issue of elephants, noting that they had become an environmental challenge as they destroyed crops and vegetation as well as attracting poachers to the country.

 Mr Rakhudu urged the minister to consider donating elephants to other countries and leaving a few which the country could manage.

 The MP for Kanye South, Mr Abram Kesupile said community trusts could not continue to operate effectively without a grant from the ministry.

He further informed the minister about a pond at Gasita which, he said, attracted a variety of wildlife during the rainy season.

However, he said when it became dry, they disappeared and urged the ministry to consider providing them with water so that the area could become a tourist area.

 On other issues, he complained about wildlife in his area which had become a menace to farmers as they destroyed crops. ENDS