28 Feb 2017

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration (MOPAGPA), Mr Eric Molale has requested Parliament to approve P1 208 097 400 as recurrent and P670 826 300 as development budget for 2017/18 financial year for the divisions falling under the ministry.

Presenting the budget proposals on Monday, the minister said the recurrent budget had been increased by P97 112 490 or 8.7 per cent over last year’s budget to do the transfer of portfolios of District Administration and Non-Governmental Rehabilitation Centres.

Another factor, he said was due to increases in Programme Development and Transponder subscriptions at the Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS), as well as Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS) due to increases in office rentals and maintenance of vehicles and plants, buildings and aircraft.

“The other Departments had marginal increases while the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) due to the transfer of Botswana National Productivity Center (BNPC) had a significant decrease and also Government Printing and Publishing Services had a slight decrease,” the minister said.

Mr Molale said the DIS had been allocated the largest share of the recurrent budget at P337 815 150 or 28 per cent followed by Office of the President with P266 503 810 or 22 per cent.

The Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) has been allocated P188 361 610 while the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) is to receive 10 per cent, DCEC 9 per cent and the rest of the departments are to share the remaining 24 per cent.

Talking about the development budget, Minister Molale said the DIS takes the largest share of P261 060 914, representing 38.9 per cent of the ministry’s development budget. The minister said P188 470 000 has been allocated to the Poverty Eradication Programme while MOPAGPA Infrastructure is to receive P100 508 386 or 15 per cent.

Improvements to DBS are to cost P82 344 000 and the remaining 5.7 per cent of the budget is to be shared among the rest of the projects in the departments of; MOPAGPA Consultancies, Computerisation, Botswana Public Service College, DPSM and Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC).

Breaking down the projects under various ministries, P945 000 has been requested to cater for the News Management System, while P15 698 000 is requested for consultancy projects being P10 998 000 for the continuation of the development and implementation of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

The P3 760 000 will be used to conduct an evaluation of existing reforms and capacity building while P940 000 will be used to finish implementation of the Structural Review for the Office of the Auditor General.

Minister Molale said the Botswana Public Service College had been allocated P9 million, out of which P6 million is to provide backup power and electrical reticulation, construction of ablution block, increase security by installing CCTV and access control as well as providing shades for corridors and parking.

“The balance of P3 million will cover consultancies under DPSM,” he said.

As for budget allocated to the DBS, P14 100 000 out of the total amount of P82 344 000 has been requested for the upgrading of transmitters.

“This entails improvement of transmitter cooling systems, connection of transmitter stations to the fibre network, upgrading of Remote Diagnosis Telemetry System, and Radio and Television Signal Coverage Gap Filling Project,” the minister said.

He said P32 900 000 is going to be used for the implementation of Btv second television channel to cater for the diverse audience needs and upgrading of data broadcasting system.

“Large amounts of TV Content will be required to sustain the channel during its daily broadcasts, content, programme rights acquisition and the training in multi-channel operation,” he said.

Minister Molale proposed P37 600 000 for the upgrade and digitasation of Radio Botswana and Btv studios and Outside Broadcast facilities for both Radio Botswana and Btv.

A further P188 470 000 is requested to continue the Poverty Eradication Programme and the minister said the funds would be used for initiatives such as the implementation of alternative packages, training workshops, Kalahari Sand Building Bricks (KSSB), construction of Serowe internal roads, the establishment of incubation centres for Small and Medium Scale business, as well as development of a Monitoring and Evaluation System.

The remaining P470 000 will be used to conduct research and feasibility of the Economic Empowerment Scheme for people living with disabilities.

For the ministerial Infrastructure Development, P100 508 386 is to be used in various projects among them the refurbishment of Orapa House (P75 200 000) and P20 million to establish retirement facilities for the current president.

In addition, P4 708 386 will be used to refurbish and convert the old vehicle testing centre into an Emergency Operation Centre.

“The balance of P600 000 will be used for the construction of airboat shelters for the National Disaster Management Office in Gaborone,” he said.

Mr Molale has requested P12 800 000 for the DCEC to undertake various projects such as upgrading the Case Management System, fleet expansion to address transport needs in the department, provision of residential accommodation and to improve the investigation capabilities of the directorate.

The minister further said ‘P600 000 will be used to procure multi-media equipment and the remaining P800 000 will be used to conduct a survey on public knowledge of corruption’.

As for the DIS, the proposed P261 060 914 will be used for the implementation of various development projects during the 2016/17 financial year.

These projects include various infrastructure developments, improvements in communication network and acquisition of mobile platforms. ENDS