28 Oct 2015

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Slumber Tsogwane has implored districts to enhance their supervision and monitoring of projects.

Speaking during Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development's Open Day held in Palapye on Tuesday (October 27), Mr Tsogwane said some programmes had been abandoned by beneficiaries whilst some continue to be neglected.

 Mr Tsogwane who is also MP for Boteti West said the situation cannot be allowed to go on “lest we undermine the good intentions of government and negate the gains this country has made thus far. 

He implored all beneficiaries to commit to their projects and guard against resource wastage.

"Think of the many other Batswana who could use such opportunity. We owe it to this country to be more responsible, considerate an accountable," he said.

Mr Tsogwane said government continues to invest heavily on various programmes aimed at improving the quality of lives of Batswana and building resilient communities, adding that he appreciated the commitment of some beneficiaries who maximize these benefits.

He said therefore it is disheartening when in some instances such assistance is not taken seriously and fail to achieve intended outcomes.

Regarding the Economic Stimulus Programme, Mr Tsogwane said this programme is anchored on being innovative about resources at his ministry's disposal to generate more.

He said this robust government plan is about accelerating inclusive diversified development for job creation, promote economic diversification and stimulate economic growth.

He said this calls for all stakeholders, the public, private sector, civil society and all players of the economy to play their part as the government alone cannot achieve this mammoth task.

"I challenge and urge all of you to commit to this noble resolve to help take Botswana to a different level."

He said the challenge of slow growth and unemployment that has hit society needs concerted effort by all adding that this calls for all districts to accelerate backlog eradication, re-thinking project management and turnaround times.

The day was held under the theme "Innovation and team work for Economic Stimulation and Sustainable quality service delivery."

For his part MP for Palapye Mr Moiseraele Goya said the face of Palapye is changing at a rapid pace. He said Palapye qualifies to be declared a township thus he called on Mr Tsogwane to consider declaring Palapye a township looking at development infrastructure in place.

Mr Goya who is also Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development also requested Mr Tsogwane to consider projects such as storm water drainage in Palapye because the area incurs challenges during rainy days. Ends