15 Jan 2017

Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) director, Ms Ruth Maphorisa has commended the Selebi-Phikwe leadership and the town council for a ‘splendid’ job in implementing government programmes such as the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP).

Ms Maphorisa said this at a meeting with the town leadership and furum for all permanent and deputy permanent secretaries in government ministries ( PIC Task Force )held at Ikageleng Kgotla on Wednesday.

The furum had made a courtesy call on the town’s leadership to inform them about their two-day retreat and corporate social responsibility project in Selebi-Phikwe.

Ms Maphorisa said despite challenges the mining town was going through after the closure of BCL Mine, the town leadership, town council and public servants worked in synergy to realise ESP programme objectives.

ESP projects included construction of teachers’ flats, classrooms and water closets for pre-school classes in various schools and were completed on time, within budget and met specifications.

She further mentioned that what the town leadership had done should encourage other areas in Botswana to do the same.

Again, she explained that the PIC Task Force held its retreat programme annually at the beginning of the year to reflect on accomplishments and challenges experienced in the previous year as well as share ideas on mapping the way to address challenges experienced.

She also indicated that as civil service leadership, permanent secretaries held their retreat in various places around the country outside Gaborone where they were based.

That, she said, gave them  an opportunity to meet and interact with local authorities to get first-hand information and understand how people in such areas lived, understand their needs and challenges and get information on how services were being rendered to civil society.

Also, she mentioned that while interacting with local authorities they got advise on how to make improvements in serving the nation as well as implementing development programmes.

Further, she said their interaction with people on the ground also paved the way for them to understand situations better and make recommendations on the national development plan and national budget as well as better provision of services.

Ms Maphorisa also said after holding retreats in Palapye, Kang, Maun, Kasane and Tsetsejwe among other places, they decided to have it in Selebi-Phikwe to meet local authorities and people of the mining town and appreciate how they lived after the closure of the BCL mine.

Giving a vote of thanks, Selebi-Phikwe deputy mayor, Mr Molefhi Pilane applauded the PIC Task Force for holding their retreat in the mining town.

Mr Pilane said the town was facing challenges due to provisional liquidation of the BCL mine.

However, he indicated that not only Selebi Phikwe was affected by the mine’s closure, but the whole region.

He noted that while people were facing challenges due to the mine’s closure, farming was an alternative to those who had lost their jobs.

However, he stated that it was difficult for those in livestock farming to make ends meet because the area had been declared a red zone due to the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the area in previous years.

As such, he explained that livestock farmers could not sell their livestock to BMC or outside the zone to make money and take care of their families.

Thus, he challenged government to look into the issue and consider lifting the ban if there was no FMD or threat of the disease in the area to give people opportunity to sell their livestock and earn a living.

On the other hand, Kgosi Gaolebale Mosweu of Ikageleng also acknowledged permanent secretaries for choosing to hold their retreat in Selebi-Phikwe and appreciate the way of life in the mining town after the closure of the BCL Mine.

Meanwhile, permanent secretaries engaged in some corporate social responsibility project in Selebi-Phikwe on Saturday before heading back to the capital city. They extended a house for a needy member of the community , fitting a shower and a toilet therein. BOPA