11 Apr 2017

Member of Parliament for Moshuoa/Manyana, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi on Monday informed  Moshupa Sub-district leadership that the P10 Million earmarked for his constituency  would be channeled towards solar energy.

During a meeting he addressed at Moshupa Rural Administration Centre, he said the money would be used to illuminate main villages such as Moshupa, Manyana, Lotlhakane West, Tshwaane, Ralekgetho,Pitseng,Polokwe, Bikwe, Mogonye and associated settlements through solar energy.

Mr Masisi  also explained that they saw it fit to take advantage of Botswana Institute of Technology Research and Innovation(BITRI), which would be the main project stakeholder and use the abundant solar energy to electrify the constituency rather than waiting to use conventional energy, which would have otherwise been far more expensive.

Meanwhile Mr Masisi, also the Vice President, encouraged all Batswana to utilise BITRI and transform the nation from an agro-based to a knowledge based economy.

He stated that economies like Taiwan and China, among others, were built on research.

“Use them, you are the managers of their budget, so give them something to research on. There is no single project that is linked to what BITRI is doing now,” he advised.

Mr Masisi also advised BITRI to come up with innovative project packages that could boost Batswana with a small budget.

Mr Masisi also encouraged public officers to read the book entitled Why nations fail, co-written by Daron Acemodu and James Robinson and sharpen their perspectives about life.

He further advised public officers to avoid corruption in all its manifestations.

He also advised project manager, Mr Ishmael Moshombe to ensure the project was completed within time and budget.

“You are on the verge of fame, if this project becomes successful, everything will start falling into place for you and they’d be no reason why you should not get a promotion,” he said.

For his part chairperson for the Southern District Council, Mr Alec Seametso, said his organisation had also taken a deliberate decision to use solar energy to illuminate the district and become a model for others across the nation.

Mr Moshombe concurred that going the solar energy route was cheaper than conventional energy, thus would save government a lot of money.

Out of a total of 20 access roads across the constituency, he said only four had street lights. ENDS