25 Oct 2015

The Vice President (VP), Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi, has advised Batswana to position themselves to benefit from the economic stimulus package programme.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting he addressed in Lotlhakane West in his Moshupa/Manyana constituency recently, Mr Masisi said government had taken a deliberate decision to tap into foreign reserves with a view to accelerate job creation through various development projects.

He said part of the funds would be channelled towards the eradication of backlog for some development projects which were shelved in the past

Mr Masisi, also coordinator of the job creation drive, said all the 57 constituencies would benefit from the dispensation thus challenged Batswana to register companies and familiarise themselves with tender procedures.

He informed  residents that the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) had been instructed to reduce turnaround times for tender adjudications, but following all the legal stipulations, to ensure the first batch of projects took off the ground before end of November this year.

Meanwhile, Mr Masisi warned contractors that government would use a price guide to award tenders. He raised concern that some contractors usually inflated prices unnecessarily when quoting for government.

“If you quote above the price guide, you are not going to get a job,”he warned.

The VP further said government would engage some engineers, quantity surveyors and project managers among others, to supervise the projects to ensure they were completed within time and budget.

He told residents that the finance ministry would revert to manual payments to avoid unnecessary payment delays in the event the electronic system had operational glitches.

Mr Masisi urged public officers to take advantage of the development. “Even public officers are allowed to register companies and use the management skills they have to do business with government provided there is no conflict of interests,”he said.

For his part Moshupa Sub Council chairman Mr Benjamin Mogodi also urged residents to take advantage of the programme and better their lives.

He said the initiative was an answer to unemployment across the nation. ENDS