14 Mar 2016

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Molepolole North, Mr Mohammed Khan, says government must invest more money in the maintenance of infrastructure.

Mr Khan told Parliament that the P370.3 million budgeted for the maintenance of government buildings for the 2016/17 financial year was not enough and thus should be increased.

Debating the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology budget proposal on Thursday, the legislator charged that unless it was financially capacitated, the department of Building and Engineering Services (DBES) would continue to fail to perform well.

“We are lagging behind in terms of maintenance of government facilities. Many government buildings need maintenance especially in my constituency where schools are not in good shape,” Mr Khan said.

He stated that facilities at Kgari Sechele Senior Secondary School in Molepolole had not been maintained for more than four years, and that teachers’ houses were in a bad state. 

He said ceilings were falling at Moruakgomo Junior Secondary School while doors and windows of some classrooms had also been damaged.  

“Facilities in most of government hospitals have not been maintained for a long time now,” he pointed out.

The MP for Shoshong, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele, stated that government should make maintenance of buildings a priority.

Mr Makgalemele said maintenance plan for buildings should commence at the time of handover of projects to avoid leaving buildings to become dilapidated before maintaining them.

Meanwhile, the MP for Kanye North Mr Patrick Ralotsia government to invest more resources on research in agricultural science.

Mr Ralotsia, who is the minister of Agriculture, said research on agriculture would lead to knowledge that will help Batswana to produce more food for their country. 

He also said research would lead to more employment opportunities in the agriculture sector.

When responding, the minister of Infrastructure Science and Technology, Mr Nonofo Molefhi, explained that his ministry was in the process of developing guidelines on facility maintenance in government. Ends