19 Jan 2017

Residents of Tsibogolamatebele catchment area in the Maun East have been hailed for striving hard and putting all efforts to become self-reliant.

Through the spirit of volunteerism, residents contributed from their pockets towards the construction of a one-room house which would be used as an office by health officials and other government officials.

They access services from Chanoga , which is approximately 3km away and through team work residents agreed to designate an area where they could access services closer.

They also managed to fence the area which is now being used as a meeting place during kgotla meetings.

In an interview, Kgosi Oateng Setlhodi of Chanoga commended residents for reviving and promoting the spirit of self-reliance which he said was diminishing.

He said in the past, the spirit of self-reliance prevailed hence many communities managed to put up more projects.

He said despite their area not being recognised as a village, residents defied the odds as they worked as a team towards the development of their area.

Kgosi Setlhodi admitted that the residents had requested to have a headman of arbitration verbally but advised them to do it formally so that he could submit their request to relevant authorities.

Meanwhile in a recent kgotla meeting addressed by the area MP, one of the elders in the area, Mr Oile Dipuo said they had long stayed there although the area was not recognized.

In addition, he revealed that their aim was to build a kgotla so that they could access government programmes nearer. He said it would make their lives easier since they would no longer travel long distances.

He also appreciated efforts made by the government to ensure they have access to some agricultural programmes, adding that currently they are ploughing.

The area MP, Mr Kostantinos Markus lauded residents for a job well done in reviving the spirit volunteerism towards the implementation of some community projects.

He said the government could not do it alone and urged other communities to emulate that and reduce dependency on government.  BOPA