09 Jul 2017

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Mr Frans van der Westhuizen says it is commendable that the ministry has executed phase I of the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) well.

Speaking at the Botswana Bureau of Standards technical workshop for all local authorities, Mr Van der Westhuizen said more effort would be exerted to complete the remaining phase II projects in order to shift attention to implementation which started slower than expected.

He said officers must develop trust among themselves and work together to achieve goals, adding that it was key to work as a team as it helped in implementing ideas which would take the country somewhere.

He said he hoped the professionals gathered from various road and building disciplines would yield fruitful results in enhancing service delivery.

Mr Van der  Westhuizen said he noted some weak links in project monitoring and execution which required urgent attention, adding that the ministry’s motto was bathopele and that whatever technical contribution the ministry undertook, it should focus on meeting the needs of the public who were the main customers.

He said the roads and building projects undertaken should be delivered on time, within budget and to specifications.

He said during his official duties he has heard an outcry of poor service delivery by councils which range from potholes, non- maintenance of public buildings, poor workmanship, ungraded roads, traffic and street lights not disfunctional and poor poor upkeep of towns and villages which needed to be attended to.

The assistant minister said buildings needed to be maintained and cost variations done without introducing any extra costs during projects. He added that there should be supervision from local authorities.

He said the coming together of the ministry’s technical brains would yield positive results in harmonising how the 16 councils monitored and executed projects within their localities.

He noted that expectations were that there would be reductions in project implementation delays and cost overruns was currently being experienced.

He further added that the expectation was for the ministry to see improvements in meeting documented customer service standards when executing both ESP and maintenance projects as well as service delivery.

He urged local authorities to show interest in new innovations on roads construction, pothole patching and building construction without compromising quality.

He added that it called for openness on  partnerships with the private sector for councils to meet their mandates. ENDS