10 Mar 2015

Members of Parliament have approved proposals presented to the house by the Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Mr Nonofo Molefhi. 

The minister presented budget estimates for the financial year 2015/2016 for consideration and approval by Parliament.

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Phillip Makgalemele supported the proposal and pleaded with the minister to speed up consultation with regards to government infrastructure. 

Mr Makgalemele, who is also MP for Shoshong, said the minister should also urge government to encourage public private partnerships as espoused by the NDP 10.  He said government buildings should be constructed in such a way that they allow for water harvesting in times of rains which could in turn be used for projects such as backyard gardening. 

He requested the minister that in future government must use infrastructure to develop semi-urban area.  He said the Innovation Hub building could have been located in an area such as Mokgenene or Kang. The MP applauded the minister for the Youth in Construction scheme and the 15 percentage that was to be allocated to youth projects.

Mochudi East MP Isaac Davids said complaints of national infrastructure were worrisome citing the National Stadium and Francistown stadium delays. He said cost overruns owing to delays were tantamount to corrupt practices. 

The Mochudi East legislator asked the minister to serve the entire nation equally and not serve the interest of a particular section of society. Francistown South MP Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said lack of equity in development planning was still visible in Botswana. 

He decried the poor performance of the construction industry citing recent contractors who were awarded multimillion Pula projects as having failed the nation. As a way of keeping track of the performance of contractors Mr Mmolotsi applauded the government of its intentions to keep a registration of engineers and quantity surveyors amongst others. 

He also thanked the minister on behalf of the Francistown community for declaring deadline of completion of the Francistown stadium.

Goodhope –Mabule MP Mr James Mathokgwane said the decentralisation process was capable of weakening coordination of government projects. 

He supported the minister’s proposals and implored government to establish a policy that would help in maths and science subjects in schools. 

He asked the minister to take up issues of radiation with the urgency they deserved saying some quarters were already making allegations that Botswana was the dumping site of Western countries with regards to radiation matters.

Gaborone Bonnington South legislator Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said significant technological uptake had long been vital to developed nations from way back. 

He said the endorsement of science have driven the economy of such countries. 

Mr Gaolathe said the biggest problem in Botswana in the last couple of years was completing projects on time and within budget. 

He said there was a growing need to establish a definitive framework to address the situation. 

He told the minister that an overarching approach to infrastructure development was critical at this point. 

The Gaborone Bonnington South MP pleaded with government to offer small business people basic access to technology, the ability to write and receive mail, he said. ENDS