21 Feb 2017

Mahalapye West legislator, Mr Joseph Molefhe says the time of operation at border posts should be increased, with the busiest ones being made to operate for 24 hours.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, he said the increase of operation times would help to speed up movement of goods across borders which would benefit cross border trade. MP Molefhe said delay of goods at border posts acts as a trade barrier and leads to businesses suffering losses due to delay of their goods from crossing into Botswana.

“It will facilitate the ease of movement for people and goods across border-posts which are important for development of the economy,” said Mr Molefhe. Contributing to the budget speech, the Botswana Democratic Party legislator also asked government to prioritise development of the manufacturing sector during the National Development Plan 11, stating that the industry could play an important role in economic growth.

He also asked government to provide more funding for the agriculture sector, pointing that the sector could produce more employment opportunities. MP for Bobonong, Mr Shaw Kgathi, said government has put priorities right in the budget.

He said he was happy that water reticulation would be improved in the villages of Mathathane, Tsetsebjwe and Gobojango in his constituency. MP for Ngami, Mr Thato Kwerepe commended government for infrastructure development projects but said more attention should be put on the quality of works by contractors. He said some construction companies awarded tenders by government usually delay to complete projects and also do shoddy jobs.

“A lot of roads and other projects are not done properly.

The quality of roads in many areas is not good and they get damaged quickly,” Mr Kwerepe said. He warned that if poor workmanship was not addressed quickly it would lead to the economy of this country collapsing.