23 Mar 2017

A total of 103 houses costing around P85 500 each are to be built in the North West District ring 2017/18 financial year.

Council chairperson, Mr Reaboka Mbulawa explained during a meeting that the district has also been allocated 51 houses to be built in Rural Area Development Programme (RADP) areas at a total cost of P116 294 per house.

Mr Mbulawa explained that pre tendering activities were underway and that the houses were targeted to be complete by December 2017.

He also informed the meeting that the district has received funds amounting to P240 600 for the establishment and construction of a bakery at Tobera, adding that mobilisation and training of beneficiaries would commence by April 2017.

Under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP), he stated that a number of projects were approved to be done through the programme and  announced that all the projects that were undertaken under the backlog eradication programme at Etsha 6 and Nxau Nxau Primary School have all been completed and were under the defects liability period.

“This is a commendable effort by our office as all the projects were completed within budget and on time. We will still be continuing with the programme in the coming financial year where backlog eradication will be done at Tawana, Letsholathebe, Chanoga, Botswelelo and Matlola primary schools,” he added.

The ESP programme is also being implemented in five junior secondary schools of Etsha, Okavango, Tshwaragano, Maitlamo and Tsodilo junior secondary schools.

The projects are still ongoing at various stages and have created a total employment of 438 people with 422 of them being citizens.

Construction of customary courts at Khwai, Samochima and Etsha 1 are still ongoing and reported to be behind schedule as they are expected to be completed before the end of the financial year.

On education, Mr Mbulawa expressed worry about poor performance in the district when it comes to Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE), Junior Certificate Examinations (JCE) and Botswana General Certificate on Secondary Education (BGCSE).

From the recently released results, the district has registered a decline of 0.4 per cent in PSLE for 2016 at 56.4 per cent when compared to 2015.

Even though the district registered a decline, he said some schools were doing well.

He said the six schools of Kgosietsile, Sankoyo, Moremi, Boseja, Letsholathebe and Sehithwa have a pass rate above 80 per cent which was the set national target, with Kgosietsile consistently scoring 100 per cent.

For JCE, the district registered 22.6 per cent which also shows a decline of 0.7 per cent as compared to the previous year.

The district has only improved in BGCSE with a slight increase of 1.1 per cent from 2015 to score 19.5 per cent.

The chairperson urged all to help teachers in the education of children, especially at junior secondary schools. ENDS