29 Nov 2017

 Kanye South Member of Parliament (MP)  Mr Abram Kesupile says Southern district is still lagging behind in terms of developments.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday during the ongoing debate on the State-Of-The-Nation-Address (SONA),  Mr Kesupile ascribed the status quo to the dwindling population of the district.

Mr Kesupile said during the 1981 national population census, the district was the second largest after Central district, observing that in the last census the district was the fourth largest.

He said the population in the district continued to fall over the years due to its people of employable age relocating to other parts of the country where they could find jobs.

The legislator also complained about the high rate of poverty in the district, a problem that he said affected mostly the youth.

He also decried the poor work ethic of public officers in the district, pinning the failure of social and economic upliftment initiatives such as the Poverty Eradication programme on it.

On destitute housing, MP Kesupile noted that while the initiative was itself quite good, its implementation left a lot to be desired.

The MP alleged that in most cases the materials used for the construction of the houses under the programme was of poor quality, something that he said negatively impacted the durability of the structures.

He also said the programme would have been better if it included the availing of utilities such as water and power, noting that just putting up shelter was on its own insufficient.

On yet another matter, Mr Kesupile castigated government for not doing much to develop the tourism sector in the Southern district despite the district having much potential.

Making his own contribution, Palapye MP Mr Moiseraele Goya thanked former Zimbabwean president Mr Robert Mugabe for having seen it fit to vacate the presidency.

Mr Goya who is also assistant minister of Basic Education said a lot was expected from Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over following Mr Mugabe’s departure.

While wishing the people of Zimbabwean the best in their efforts to restore their country to its former glory days, the legislator however expressed concern about the current president saying he was no different from his predecessor.

Mr Goya said though what the Zimbabwean army had done in ensuring the change of guard in the country was commendable, it was critical to ensure that such a measure was not repeated by armies elsewhere in an endeavour to unseat democratically-elected governments.  

Addressing President Lieutenant General Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama’ speech, the MP applauded the president for having held the nation together in the face of the turbulence brought about by the global economic downturn.

He said President Khama had during his reign taken unpopular decisions when he had to.

He said the  President had stopped increments of public officers’ salaries when the economy did not allow for that.

He said because of President Khama’ sound leadership, Botswana had overcome many hurdles and weathered many storms.

Mr Goya noted that it was during the President’s term of office that many dams among them the Dikgatlhong, Thune and Ntimbale dams had been built.

He also pointed out that during his term, the country’s export bill had grown while the import bill had gone down.

Further, he observed that it was still during Lt Gen Dr Khama’s tenure that the country’s budget experienced a P2.8 billion surplus, while in the previous financial year its economy registered a 4.3 percent growth.

MP Goya also hailed the decision by government that headmen of arbitration would now be paid.

He however implored government to empower them to administer corporal punishment, pointing out that this would contribute greatly to efforts to lower crime rates.

He also praised the education and training sector strategic plan, saying it was a good initiative that would help improve academic results in schools. BOPA