17 Jan 2018

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama has told residents of Lentswe-Le-Moriti in the Bobirwa Sub-district that adjustment of operation hours at Point Drift border was not a decision Botswana could make on its own but must be discussed with the South African government as well.

President Khama said this on Tuesday during the visit to distribute hampers to children, elderly people, destitute and orphans.

President Khama stated that Botswana did not have a problem with extending border operation times from 6am to 6pm as requested by residents but there had to be an agreement with South Africa on the issue.

In his welcome remarks, St Engenas ZCC church minister, Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi requested for the extension of opening and closing hours at Point Drift Border post, regular grading of the road, BTC reception and positing of an additional nurse at the local clinic.

Mr Molebatsi stated that currently, the border opens at 8am and closes at 4pm and requested that operational hours be adjusted to 6am to 6pm.

President Khama further explained that extension of hours were also determined by the flow of traffic and movement of people and stated that government would look at the statistics from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship before they could make a request for extension with their counterparts.

Concerning the BTC reception in the area and the state of the road to Lentswe-Le-Moriti and a request for an additional nurse at the clinic, President Khama told them that he would make take the mater with  the relevant ministries.

Mr Molebatsi had also made a request that BTC set up their network mast in Lentswe-Le-Moriti to allow them connect a fax machine to ease communication.

Nonetheless, President Khama thanked residents for contributing presents towards his farewell, noting that he was touched and humbled.

He also told them that every year he distributed hampers to the elderly, needy, youth and destitute persons, a gesture which has become customary in villages.

President Khama also commended Lentswe-Le-Moriti Primary School for the good performance during their final examinations and donated P5 000 to the school.

The school has maintained the record for four years in a row.

He also donated P3 000 to the residents for emerging the cleanest village at both the district and national levels.

The cleanliness of the village, he said, demonstrated that they were the people of God and appealed to other villages to emulate them saying by doing so, Botswana would be a good place to live in.

Giving a vote of thanks, the area MP, Mr Shaw Kgathi commended President Khama for his benevolence saying he had proved that he was a real statesman, who was not only loved locally but was also praised outside the borders.

Mr Kgathi, also Minister of Defence, Justice and Security said the presents given to the President by the Bobonong constituents demonstrated that he was really loved by his people.

Concerning Lentswe-Le-Moriti, Mr Kgathi stated that through the constituency fund they had proposed to install solar street lights in the village. ENDS