09 Jun 2013

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has long cautioned all local authorities to desist from buying expensive vehicles for the leadership.

The accounting officer in the ministry, Mr Khumo Matlhare submitted before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) that the ministry also advised against the purchase of expensive vehicles, but instead proposed that funds be channeled to projevts that would beneft the community.

This was a follow up to a question posed by committee members and Kanye North MP Mr Kentse Rammidi.

They had had asked why Chobe District Council used P2 million to buy two top of the range vehicles for its leadership.

Mr Rammidi had also wondered whether there were no set guidelines on the standard of vehicles to be bought by local authorities.

He said the vehicles were even more expensive than those of cabinet ministers and their assistants.

In response, Mr Matlhare, who is also the permanent secretary in the ministry, explained that the ministry would liaise with Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) to set guidelines for buying vehicles for local authorities leadership or use any other options such as using private vehicles if the need arises.

Regarding poor management of landfills, Mr Matlhare submitted that the ministry has a serious problem of financial constraints to buy expensive landfill equipment’s such as rollers.

He said for the past six years, the ministry had inadequate funds to buy the right equipment to manage various landfills across the country.

He said to manage the Gamodubu regional landfill, the South East and Gaborone Councils pulled their resources (rollers) together to assist in the management of the landfill.

Mr Matlhare submitted that most of the equipment, particularly rollers, had incurred frequent breakdowns and that the ministry was unable to buy new ones because of financial constraints adding that to address the problem, the ministry had plans to outsource most of the work in landfills.

Another committee members and MP for Tonota North Mr Fidelis Molao had complained that landfills across the country have turned into dumping sites and whether it was not high time that sub-district councils, particularly in the Central Districts be converted into fully fledged district councils.

Regarding converting sub-district into fully fledged district councils, Mr Matlhare said the issue has been discussed at length both in Councils and Parliament but the advice was that government has fully decentralised all its services so that sub-districts could attend to their matters. 

However, he said the decentralisation policy was on card after some predicaments with a consultant that was initially appointed to do the work.

Mr Matlhare also told the committee that government was doing all it can to see that a reasonable number of headmen of arbitration were included in the allowance scheme.

He said government appreciated the work done by headmen of arbitration but due to financial constraints, not all of them will get the allowance.

MP Molao had wanted to know why close to 600 headmen of arbitration, who are doing a good job, but wallowing in abject poverty, were still not included in the allowance scheme.

Committee members wanted to know why it was too difficult for destitutes and orphans to inherit plots from of their deceased parents.

Mr Matlhare explained that the ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, as the people’s ministry, had always insisted that destitutes and orphans get first hand assistance but advised that there should be a letter of inheritance of the plot.

ENDS