14 Feb 2018

Molepolole South MP, Dr Tlamelo Mmatli has complained about the shortage of important infrastructure in Molepolole although it has one of the biggest populations in the country.

Commenting on the 2018/19 budget speech on Tuesday, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) MP expressed concern that Molepolole still lacked a sewerage system, good roads and reliable water reticulation facilities amongst other things.  

He said he was worried that the budget speech did not spell out how government planned to address the challenges.

“You would expect to see certain developments in places with big populations. You expect to see a police station of a certain standard, Botswana Housing Corporation houses, a sewerage system, a big road connecting it with other places, internal roads and good water reticulation facilities,” he said.

He urged government to prioritise places with high populations when allocating funds for critical development projects.

Dr Mmatli said the budget should focus on addressing the socio-economic challenges faced by all citizens.

He said water supply was a challenge for the whole country, and that government should work harder to resolve the issue.

“In Molepolole, the situation is so bad that some areas sometimes go for six months without water. In every kgotla meeting I addressed before this session of Parliament, people were complaining about water shortage. They want government to address the issue,” he said.Concerning road infrastructure, the MP asked for the tarring of the road connecting Molepolole with Lentsweletau.

On education, he said government should find the root cause of declining results in schools and address them. He also urged government to prioritise technical education because “it is capable of leading to the creation of many employment opportunities.”

Meanwhile, the MP for Gaborone North, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa complained that some projects had taken long to be completed, citing the North-South Water Carrier project, saying it had taken about three financial years.

“It is clear that in terms of implementation, we are not doing what we have promised,” he said.

Mr Nkaigwa also advised government to address corruption in the awarding of government tenders. He said some companies had continued to dominate government tenders yet they continued to deliver unsatisfactory projects. Ends