01 Aug 2018

Ngamiland District poverty eradication coordinator, Mr Keeme Mokgadi has attributed the slow rollout of poverty eradication programme projects to delays by suppliers.

He revealed in an interview that though procurement of material was done on time, suppliers delayed deliveries, resulting in delays to assist beneficiaries.

Mr Mokgadi stated that the district had a backlog of 541 and currently there were 185 incomplete packages.

He observed that their target was to complete the backlog by December last year, but that was not possible because it was not easy to get all the packages, adding that some materials and equipment were sourced from as far as Gaborone, taking long to deliver. 

Mr Mokgadi, however, stated that they hoped to complete the backlog by August this year as they had secured a budget and also attend to new applications.

This followed complaints by some residents of Bothatogo who said they had long applied for some packages under the programme but they had not received assistance despite being equipped with the necessary skills. 

Airing their concerns during a kgotla meeting addressed by Ngami MP, Mr Thato Kwerepe, residents said the delays were worrisome as there was also no communication on why they were not assisted.

One of the residents, Ms Zikamee Mbaeva said she had applied for small stock under LIMID in 2011 and to date, she has not been assisted, while some said they applied in 2015 and 2016 but were still awaiting assistance.

An official from the Department of Animal Production, Ms Itsile Folae informed residents that they had suspended buying of LIMID livestock because of the recent Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak at Sehithwa extension area.

She also appreciated that some die after being issued to beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, some residents decried damages caused by wildlife such as lions and elephants and called on the government to consider lifting the hunting ban to reduce the high population of elephants.

They said elephants posed a danger to the lives of communities as they roamed the villages and destroyed their properties.

For his part, Mr Kwerepe told residents that the government was aware of the havoc caused by elephants, noting that something would be done to address the situation.

He urged residents to be patient as government would embark on a consultative drive to solicit ideas from the community and to share what it aims to do with regard to the high elephant population. 

On other issues, the MP appreciated that Village Development Committees (VDCs) played a critical role in ensuring that planned developments were carried out, but advised them to also focus on the community’s social welfare.

He said they should have a detailed report on the uptake of government initiatives, progress of projects, challenges, how many sick people were there in the village and also state which group benefited, be it people with disability, youth or elders.

Mr Kwerepe said the committee should also update him on such issues as they act as ‘the eye’ to government on the needs of the community.

“You should think outside the box and liaise with relevant stakeholders to come up with projects geared at improving livelihoods,” he added. ENDS