30 Jan 2019

 Member of Parliament for Mochudi East has urged residents of Mathubudukwane not to lose hope regarding the construction of a tarred road from Mabalane to Modipane.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Mathubudukwane, Mr Moagi Molebatsi said it was apparent that the road, if tarred, would go a long way in addressing issues of commuters coming from Modipane area to Mathubudukwane.

“Teachers that work in Mathubudukwane who are commuting from Modipane area will be well resourced when the road gets tarred, and also people who commute from Mathubudukwane and surrounding villages to Gaborone will make the trip without much hassle,” he said.

He noted that money meant for construction of the road had been diverted to other projects on two occasions and he would continue to engage relevant ministers to get the project started.

“I have also asked other MPs to join me in lobbying for this road, which will also include construction up to Tuli Block,” he said.

The road will also help ease congestion from the A1, and unlike the one from Molepolole to Orapa, there are more villages along the way, which will help those that got stranded, he said.

Mr Molebatsi noted that he was visiting his constituents in a bid to get suggestions regarding developments that he would suggest in the next Parliament session.

One resident, Mr Mausa Moeng, called for the expansion of the health post and posting of a full time resident doctor.

“The situation right now is that the doctor only comes on Thursdays and he cannot service the entire village and other surrounding villages in a day. 

We also have problems with getting blood tests, TB tests and treatment,” he said.

He cited a challenge with livestock theft cases that were now the jurisdiction of magistrate courts. Mr Moeng asked the MP to appeal to government to bring back livestock theft cases to customary courts.

He also raised concerns with the new alcohol trading hours that were introduced last year, saying Botswana was raising a generation of drunkards.

“We also have to come up with laws that forbid people from driving cars to bars. 

Bars are also noisy and we have children who have to rest, we have patients who need rest, but we cannot do any of these things ever since these new trading hours were introduced,” he said.

Other issues raised by residents included lack of ambulances, which has resulted in people hiring cars to transport patients and sometimes patients die in transit to Mochudi. Residents also raised a concern regarding tenders for projects in the area, which were being advertised only in Mochudi and excluding Mathubudukwane area, adding that such a move shuts out local service providers from benefitting. ENDS