18 Jun 2013

The Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe has urged Robelela residents to come up with viable project ideas that could empower them economically.

He said the Rural Development Council that he chairs was mandated to help people living in rural areas to upgrade their livelihoods through projects that could contribute to their villages’ economy. Dr Kedikilwe said people in remote areas could use their indigenous knowledge and resources to start businesses.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Robelela on June 14, the Vice President said government would like to see remote areas developing economically and socially to reduce  rural-urban migration.

 Dr Kedikilwe, who is also Member of Parliament for Mmadinare, expressed concern that project implementation was a setback as some projects undertaken by people in remote areas had failed.

He expressed disappointment that some youth projects funded by the governments of Botswana and the United States of America in Tamasane, Mogapinyana, Robelela, Mmadinare and Tobane to the tune of P3 million, had all failed and he attributed that to implementation challenges.

He said this demonstrated that poor implementation of projects was a serious challenge throughout the country. The Vice President also urged youth to take education seriously because without it, their future would be bleak.

The world economic recession, he said, had impacted negatively on the country’s economy and some projects were shelved while those critical to the economy were undertaken such as the construction of Dikgatlhong, Thune, and Lotsane dams to provide the country with water, especially the southern region. 

He said the construction of some of the government facilities had been completed while maintenance of school facilities was ongoing. He said the pump station at Robelela Dam and pipeline to connect the dam to the North South Carrier (NSC) was still under construction. It would help supply the southern region with water.

The Vice President requested Batswana to provide residential accommodation to civil servants to alleviate the problem of accommodation shortage. Dr Kedikilwe encouraged Batswana to plough their fields and take advantage of the ISPAAD programme. He also advised them to resort to good farming methods to reap good yields.

For his part, the Village Development Committee chairperson, Mr George Morupisi said the Ipelegeng programme had employed 150 people. The projects registered under the programme, he said, included the nearing completion of the construction of village customary court and the social and community development office.

He said construction of the customary court holding cell was progressing well while the pump station that provided Robelela with water was complete and already providing them with potable water.

Mr Robert Kaphepha from Water Utilities Corporation said they were in the process of introducing prepaid water taps at Robelela and asked residents to register. ENDS