18 Oct 2015

Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has donated P154 000 towards refurbishment of Morwa Community Hall, which was destroyed by heavy winds last year. The Morwa community made a plea to President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama during a kgotla meeting he addressed at the village in April.

Speaking at an event to kick start the project, President Khama said after the request, he asked some people to estimate how much it would cost to refurbish the hall.

He said after getting the estimates, he realised that it would be difficult for the council to come up with such an amount, especially because it had not budgeted for it. President Khama said he therefore suggested to his party to find a way of assisting Morwa residents and they agreed to raise funds.

He added that he spoke to the then former BDP secretary general, Mr Mpho Balopi who agreed to coordinate the project.

President Khama further said the donation was a gift from BDP to Morwa residents. The project coordinator, Mr Balopi said they were happy to be giving to the Morwa community.

He commended President Khama saying he was a compassionate leader as shown through different programmes geared at helping Batswana including the Presidential Housing Appeal initiative.

Mr Balopi added that in the same way, their party was committed to strengthening and empowering communities as shown by such gesture.

He said government alone could not achieve such goals, thus urged companies and individuals to assist in uplifting lives of Batswana.

He said BDP was in a mission to continue encouraging the spirit of volunteerism and solidarity among Batswana. On the project background, Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Ms Jane Madisa said they were happy that their prayers had been answered.

Ms Madisa explained that the community hall was damaged by strong winds last year. She said the structure was built in 1986 through contributions from the community.

She indicated that they made a plea to President Khama to assist because the hall had proved useful to the community.

She added that the facility was used for payments of elders allowances as well as a gym for the youth while the District Commissioner also used it to for marriage ceremonies.

In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Masisi Ntshole said he was thankful for President Khama to have fulfilled their request within a short space of time. That, he said, showed President Khama’s commitment to helping Batswana. Thus, he encouraged Morwa residents to work together towards completion of the community hall for their benefit. Ends