03 Jan 2019

Tutume Sub-district principal economist, Ms Kebalepile Mphotho says the sub-district is implementing 35 projects funded under the 2017/18 community constituency projects in Nkange constituency.

Briefing Nkange constituency village development committee members, councillors and dikgosi recently, Ms Mphotho said of the 35 projects funded, 23 were complete, 12 ongoing while one was at 58 per cent.

She said Nkange constituency had proposed 90 projects and that only 35 had been catered for. Ms Mphotho noted that during consultation each constituency proposed projects that they wished to be funded under the programme and were prioritised according to their needs.

The proposed projects included construction of LA2 houses, kgotla shelters, storerooms and the expansion of electricity grid within the villages. She noted that the programme created employment for 92 residents in the constituency.

Ms Mphotho said most of the funded projects were constructed on VDC plots, and that the majority did not have certificates. She added that it delayed power connection since plot certificates were a pre-requisite for utility connection by service providers.

She said the Department of Physical Planning assisted the affected VDC’s without plot certificates to apply for them in order to facilitate payment for utility connections. She advised VDCs to ensure that they applied for plot certificates or to seek assistance from council when proposing projects.

She said the programme faced challenges such as the sub-district being funded for 76 projects in addition to the 33 RADP houses, 16 destitute houses and three ESP projects hence the limited capacity, especially human capital to implement the projects.

In addition, she said it hampered project supervision and monitoring leading to delayed completion.

She said in an attempt to minimise the challenge, council employed eight clerk of works on a temporary basis under ESP projects. She added that it would alleviate manpower shortages as council staff would focus on the implementation of community constituency programmes.

For their part, VDC representatives from villages within the constituency complained about delayed implementation of projects, noting that suppliers took long to supply materials. They also complained about lack of supervision from council officials.

Nkange VDC chairperson, Mr Gabriel Tshekiso said some 2017/18 projects were still far behind, and that they were now proposing for the second phase of the programme which would likely create a backlog.

Mr Tshekiso said suppliers took long to supply materials and that it delayed projects. He urged council to come up with measures to correct the situation.

The objective of the meeting was to highlight progress regarding the implementation of  constituency community projects within Nkange constituency funded during the 2017/18 financial year, and to come up with proposals for the 2019/2020 financial year. ENDS