24 Aug 2015

Preparations to declare Masuga a planning area are at an advanced stage, the chairperson of the North East District Council (NEDC) Ms Florah Mpetsane announced during a full council meeting recently. 

Ms Mpetsane, who was officially opening the full council meeting, said consultations in the affected villages of Masunga, Letsholathebe, Mosojane, Vukwi, Gambule and Mulambakwena, had already been done, except for the determination of the extent of the planning area.

She explained that the grouping of the villages into a single planning area would not in any way take away their territorial integrity nor tamper with their existing boundaries.

She stated that the decision to declare Masunga and neighbouring villages a planning area was born out of the need to ensure a systematic development of the said villages.

Meanwhile, the civic leader decried the slow pace at which the destitute housing programme was progressing in the district, saying only 47 houses out of the expected 71 funded since the inception of the programme in the 2011/12 financial year, had so far been completed.

She added that the remaining houses were at different stages of construction.

Regarding the Turnkey housing programme, Ms Mpetsane said the district had since completed a total of 34 Turnkey projects through the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) for the 2012/13 financial year.

She however told the councillors that the district had not received funding for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 financial years. ENDS