08 Aug 2016

Local authorities across the country have been urged to up their game and ensure smooth implementation of government development initiatives.

The Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele said as district coordinators, they should be seen at the forefront driving the initiatives and coming up with best solutions to challenges encountered.

He said this when officiating at the district/ministry consultative forum of projects under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP). The forum brought together local authorities, economic planners and ministry projects implementors to discuss how best they could drive the programmes to the benefit of communities. 

Mr Makgalemele acknowledged that some programmes faced challenges and advised the gathering to think outside the box and share best case experiences on how to deal with such challenges. He urged them to look at ESP holistically and implement its roll-out plan. He said they should not let any key component of the programme to be left out adding that they should ensure the projects under ESP were completed within specified time and also met their objectives.

“As government, we are convinced that you are competent experts, professionals who could do better for the benefit of our people. I urge you to succeed in that area and ensure quality service delivery,” he added.

Mr Makgalemele revealed that since the launch of the programme, many projects had been take off while some are waiting to be awarded. He appreciated that some people associate ESP with the infrastructure projects ‘but it is one component which has a bearing on job creation.’

He said the government was convinced that ESP could empower people and eradicate abject poverty within the communities and urged relevant authorities to do all they could to ensure its  success.

He said other key components which could add value to job creation included Economic Diversification Drive initiative which aimed to diversify the economy by developing sectors other than the primary sectors so that they contribute meaningfully to Gross Domestic Product.

The initiative also seeks to leverage the government’s purchasing power to enhance local production and consumption through local procurement and the application of price preference margins based on annual turnover.

For his part, Gaborone City Council town clerk, Mr Mpho Mathe said the forum would give them an opportunity to identify the gaps and work on them. He believed that the two day seminar would be fruitful as they would share ideas on how best to implement the initiatives. Ends