22 Jan 2018

 Assistant Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Itumeleng Moipisi, has informed Phuduhudu residents that the quarantine in the area would be resuscitated during the 2018/19 financial year.

He said the move would allow continuity of artificial insemination that had long been suspended.

Speaking at kgotla meeting in Phuduhudu on Friday, Mr Moipisi said the quarantine had not been operational for a long time after large herds of camels and zebras were kept there.

He informed them that the Ministry of Wildlife and National Parks had heeded to their pleaand relocated the animals to Kweneng camp.

The MP, however said the operation of the quarantine would be delayed since it needed major maintenance and therefore no cattle would be brought in during the winter period.

On a different note, Mr Moipisi said President Khama had started bidding farewell to residents in different constituencies and  that they should also start preparations for his farewell to be held in Hukuntsi kgotla on March 15.
He encouraged them to liaise with district commissioners’ office for all the logistics.

On other issues, he informed them about Phuduhudu cultural village project that he said was moving in the right direction as Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO)  released about P4 million to kick start the project and also that other necessary requirements had been met.

Mr Moipisi also decried poor academic results in their constituency, which he said needed concerted efforts to be addressed the situation.

He said Phuduhudu Primary School achieved 23.5 per cent in 2016 and in 2017 PSLE they attained 35.3 per cent, despite a slight increase of 11 .8 per cent, still results are unsatisfactory and urged them to work hard for higher marks.

He implored teachers to benchmark on their counterparts and learn one or more things that could help them to improve their results.

Mr Moipisi also called on parents to show eagerness in education of their children by frequenting schools, to get first-hand information on their performance and

formulate how best the pupils could be assisted.

Furthermore, he called on parent and teachers association (PTA) committee to strengthen relations and help improve the school’s results in the coming years.
Moreover, Mr Moipisi said office of the member of parliament has introduced a floating trophy coupled with some cash to the best performing primary and junior schools, as a way of supporting schools for better results.

He noted with displeasure that upper schools had over the years failed to take the trophy home, as they failed to achieve at least 50 per cent pass rate whereas at primary schools the ground was a bit level as it was already floating around.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Kgosi Joseph Phori, decried incomplete packages of destitute houses as most of them were not fenced.

He also decried lack of rainfall and pleaded with Department of Crops to allow them to switch to broadcasting seeds for early germination of plants to catch up with the late rains rather than raw planting that he said would lead to late germination and might end up with no yields.

When giving village development report, VDC chairperson, Mr Leshopa Semommung, appreciated government’s poverty eradication programmes in place that are meant to uplift people’s lives such as destitute houses, village co-operative and constituency projects.

He pleaded for teaching staff houses and also a classroom block for reception class as well as a borehole to water their livestock.

For their part, one of the residents  Mr Oatlhotse Piti appreciated feedback on the relocation of the camels and zebras that have been kept at the quarantine.

He pleaded with the area MP to ensure that there is close supervision at the quarantine to speed up its operation as they are now forced to take their cattle to Sekgwa Sentsho AI centre, which he said farmers end up incurring hefty costs.
He also called for close monitoring of youth funded projects as most of them get funded and do not comply and end up squandering the money on alcohol and other unnecessary things.

Mr Piti further called on parents to seek legal action against their children by the youth office when they notice misuse of the funds.

Another resident, Mr Boemo Segwagwa pleaded with the assistant minister to construct sewerage plant in their village to avoid the contamination of underground water, since Phuduhudu waters most of the surrounding villages.

On other issues, they decried about long waiting lists for plots, delayed cases of stock theft, public officers accommodation and rejected proposals by gender affairs.

In their responses, Hukuntsi Sub District Council chairperson, Ms Goratwamang Tlhage, explained that the council budget has been reduced as they used to get P 130 000 and it dropped to P120 000 and now they are operating with a meagre budget of P85 000, that forces them to build houses without fencing the yard.

For his part, Hukuntsi Sub District land board chairperson, Mr Henry Maapatsane, said plot allocation would be done from February/March in Phuduhudu and Inalegolo villages to clear the long waiting lists.

Principal officer from Department of Youth, Ms Evelyn Kelebemang said it is disheartening to hear that funded youths are misusing fun

ds that they were given to uplift their lives, and she said they would put a close eye on the situation.

She shared the same sentiments with Mr Piti that, parents should also play a role in ensuring government funds are put to good use.

“You should be the eyes and ears of the government, so that those perpetrators are brought to book”, she said.

In his response, Mr Moipisi lauded residents for their feedback and other suggestions as he said they would help them keep record of what they have achieved and what is lagging behind.

On the issue of rejection of business proposals by  gender affairs, he explained that, the rejections were not based on their proficiency but due to lack of funds.

He said the relevant ministry received influx of applications across the country and that strained their budget but in the coming financial year some projects will get funded.

With regard to sewerage plant, he said it is not yet in the development plan, maybe in the coming years as developments unfold, it might be included.

In her closing remarks, council chairperson Ms Goratwamang Tlhage encouraged residents to bring gifts for President Khama just like in other constituencies. She also encouraged all departments in the area to ensure good service delivery by acting on the raised issues. ENDS