19 Oct 2017

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Frans Van Der Westhuisen says government is losing a lot of money through unnecessarily over-designed projects.

Mr Van Der Westhuisen said during a tour of projects under his ministry in Ramotswa constituency recently.

He noted that most of the internal roads in all districts had been designed as if they would be used by heavy vehicles, yet they are only used by small vehicles.

That, he said had left the government spending a lot of money on expensive project designs.

Thus, he encouraged council authorities to come up with cheaper project designs where necessary to avoid unnecessary spending.

He expressed concern about some instances where councils paid P800 million for a 60-kilometre road.

He also pleaded with councils to put more emphasis on public health, adding that it had not been given much attention.

He further called on councils to strive to deliver on their own mandates, saying people vote for councillors with expectations.

He said if bye laws are not implemented, waste is not collected and roads are not maintained, it is a sign that the council neglects its responsibility.

South East District Council secretary, Mr Lebuile Israel said the council was implementing five projects under the fuel levy programme.

He stated that three other projects being storm water drainage in Otse, paving of Mogobane road and paving of CBD road in Ramotswa were done through recurrent budget.

On destitute housing, he said the district had allocated P1.5 million for the construction of 20 houses for the destitute and 11 of those had been completed while others are anticipated to be complete by end of October.

He stated that they faced challenges such as over pricing, which resulted in re-tendering and delayed completion of the houses.

On ESP Phase One, he stated that all the projects were completed on time.

Council chairperson, Mr Phenyo Segokgo said the P1.1 billion Boatle/Gaborone A1 dual carriage road, which was started last year would take two years to complete.

While he appreciated the development, he regretted that not much had been done to maintain roads which were destroyed by rains earlier this year, despite that another rainy season is around the corner.

Further, he noted that his council had been proactive in completing projects on time; something that assistant minister applauded the council for. ENDS