26 Feb 2017

Parliament has been informed that the back-up generator at Francistown Industrial Court was installed in January 2013.

The House also learnt that the generator had latent defects, which were addressed by the Department of Building and Electrical Services (DBES) in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development.

Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo also said he was aware that the backup generator was malfunctioning, adding that in November 2016, it experienced mechanical problems.

Mr Mabeo also told Parliament that the Francistown division of Industrial Court had once again engaged DBES to carry out the required maintenance of the generator and that he expected the generator to be operational by the end of next month.

The minister was answering a question from the Francistown East MP, Mr Buti Billy, who had asked the minister if he was aware of the malfunctioning of the generator ever since its installation.

Mr Billy also wanted the minister to state when the generator would be repaired as this greatly affected the work of the judges and support staff whenever there were power cuts. END