27 Jan 2015

Members of the Boseja Village Development Committee (VDC) in Maun have been cautioned against engaging in petty issues but to focus on their mandate of driving developments in their area.

Member of Parliament for Maun East, Mr Kosta Markus advised members during a kgotla meeting after the residents  complained that developments were lagging behind in their area because of the VDC’s maladministration.

Mr Markus advised members to understand that their mandate was to unite people and carry out developments; as such they should change their behaviour and bring about developments as expected of them.

He noted that most VDCs in the country failed to deliver because of funds embezzlement. “Misuse of public funds within VDCs is worrisome and I urge you to audit your books regularly and produce a proper financial report,” he added.

He explained that VDCs were pillars of development implementation in every village and that if they were dysfunctional, developments would be affected.

The MP thus urged members to put aside their differences and support each other for them to deliver their mandate effectively. He also urged the community to elect responsible people who could drive projects.

Earlier on the residents  complained that their VDC was not active because some members did not want be replaced in their positions, which had created an impression that funds could have been embezzled.

However, the committee countered that the financial report had been rejected several times hence the delay to elect a new committee. The MP also advised the community to support their VDC members in order for them to achieve their goals, adding that favouritism was divisive and could lead to collapse of the committee.

He also advised VDC to come up with income generating permanent projects like operating a local abattoir to augment their budget instead of relying only on rentals.

Mr Markus said farmers were crying foul in the district because the only abattoir in the village was expensive for them when they take their cattle in for slaughter. Such a project, he said, could also go a long way in reducing poverty and youth unemployment in the area.

He also urged parents to encourage their children to engage in businesses rather than idle around when programmes tailor-made for improving their lives were available.

“Considering the fact that the unemployment rate is high in the area, these programmes could help young people to venture into sustainable businesses that would ultimately help generate employment for other youths,” he added.

Meanwhile, the residents complained about poor service delivery by government departments to which MP Markus promised to liaise with relevant authorities to address the situation. ENDS