18 Apr 2013

Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi says the total cost of the Chanoga Poverty Eradication programme workshop is currently estimated at P2.5 million.

He informed Parliament on Tuesday that payments to service providers are ongoing and therefore they can only have a definite figure once all payments have been made.

The workshop was conducted from March 25 to 27, 2013.

Accommodation per night for different categories of tentswere:  for category one, 50 tents none sharing unit price was P2 300 and total cost was P345 000; category two, 40 tents sharing with 80 people, unit price was P2 300, total cost was P276 000; category three, 10 tents none sharing unit price P1 300, total cost was P36 000; category four, 27 tents, 54 people sharing, unit price was P1 400 and total cost was P113  400. The total cost for all tents was P770 400.

The minister said it should be noted that safari accommodation in Maun, a tourist destination, is expensive relative to other areas.

The normal price for category one tent, he said is P4 500 per tent, but it was negotiated down to P2 300 for the event.

He said a total of 127 accommodation tents were erected in Chanoga and almost all the categories of tents were fully occupied except three tents in category one.

Minister Masisi noted that it was caused by non-attendance of some officials who had confirmed their attendance but failed to show up at the event.

He stated that a total of four ministers and five assistant ministers attended the official opening of Chanoga workshop, two of the ministers accompanied President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

The rest of the ministers and assistant ministers he said, were there because of their roles in the Poverty Eradication programme, and all of the ministers and assistant ministers used Air Botswana for transport.

The minister was answering a question from MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi to state the actual total cost of the Chanoga poverty eradication workshop.

He also asked the minister to state the cost of accommodation per night in different categories of tents, as well as the number of tents that were erected at Chanoga and the number that was not used.

MP Mmolotsi asked the minister to state the number of ministers who attended the workshop, the mode of transport used and the role they played at the workshop.  ENDS