31 Jan 2017

Residents of Changate village have shown disappointment over the road maintenance that was supposed to be done but unfortunately government does not have enough funds to carry out that.

Speaking in a kgotla meeting addressed by Member of Parliament for Nkange constituency Mr Edwin Batshu, village development committee (VDC) chairperson Mr

Fidzani Lekgoba expressed disappointment citing that the road has tremendous impact on their daily lives.

Mr Lekgoba said for years they have been making a plea to the government to have it done or even when they are still waiting for funds at least it be maintained to be in a better state that it can be used. Because of its bad state, he noted that they have witnessed 16 accidents with the recent one claiming the life of a student.

In addition, Mr Lekgoba said in terms of public transport they are struggling as a result of the bad state of their road noting that public transport operators do not last in their route and as such during public holidays when their children who are working outside the village want to visit it becomes a challenge. And this affects the developments in their village because during the holidays it is when they can come together and come up with common ideas which can help in developments.

Sharing similar sentiments as the VDC, Mr Daniel Puso said Changate is a small village that is bit far from most of the developments and some of the services. And because of that some public servants fail to reach them particularly in this area where the issue of shortage of transport is common.

This, he therefore noted disadvantages many of those who want to take advantage of government programmes availed to Batswana to change their livelihoods.  

“When there is low linkage between the residents and the government the production performance decreases,” he said.

In his response, Mr Batshu said because of financial constraints faced by the government, some development projects will remain to be done at a later time adding that because of such constraints the government prioritises projects. However, he said the government will continue to strive to meet the needs of Batswana and serve them equally within the service standards set.

He nonetheless appealed to all road users to drive with caution at all times taking into consideration the state of the road in order to safe lives.ENDS