21 Feb 2017

Member of Parliament for Molepolole South, Dr Tlamelo Mmatli has asked government to speed up construction of sewerage system infrastructure in Molepolole.

Commenting on the budget speech on Monday, Dr Mmatli explained developments had stalled in the village due to lack of such a facility.

He wondered why it had taken so long for government to deliver the facility which was promised some years back.

“The absence of a sewerage system has stopped developments such as the construction of Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) houses.

BHC was allocated a plot in Molepolole but has not developed it because of lack of the sewerage system.

It is not good for a big village like Molepolole to lack sewerage system,” the Umbrella for Democratic Change legislator said.

He further complained that the budget speech, presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo, failed to explain adequately how income inequality would be addressed and how employment opportunities would be created.

“It is not clear how government will create jobs for many young people who are affected by unemployment and have resorted to working for Ipelegeng,” Dr Mmatli said, accusing the minister of failing to elaborate how a conducive environment would be created for the private sector to help grow the economy.

Furthermore, he urged government to avoid increasing taxes when diversifying sources of revenue as the move would saddle Batswana and impoverish them.

MP for Kgatleng West, Mr Gilbert Mangole complained that the economy was still reliant on diamonds as major source of revenue and no employment opportunities were created.

He urged government to grow the export sector as a way of diversifying the economy and creating more jobs.

“We should look at the export sector as a way of diversifying the economy because our domestic market is small. Employment creation will come from a strong and diversified export base,” Mr Mangole said, calling for development of

transportation infrastructure, as one important factor for business growth.

The Umbrella for Democratic Change legislator also said high electricity tariffs make investors reluctant to invest in Botswana.

The MP further called for state funding of political parties to be introduced to strengthen democracy in Botswana.

He also said Botswana Police Service should be adequately resourced with more vehicles and ambulances so that they could effectively fight crime and assist road accident victims.BOPA