17 Feb 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has appealed to Batswana  to safeguard a clean Botswana.

President Masisi made the call at a kgotla meeting he addressed recently in Ghanzi.

Dr Masisi said a polluted environment  had various consequences such as  contaminated water table  and diseases, hence people should desist from polluting the environment.

As a way of keeping the environment clean, the president said that it was important to dedicate some days of the week to clean-up campaigns as  well as  recycling some waste.

He also appealed to Ghanzi residents to shun what he described as ‘indiscriminate disposal of litter’.

Responding to Kgosi Botshelo Lekgothu’s concerns of alcohol abuse by young people, Dr Masisi said that some people attributed alcohol abuse to the extension of  trading hours, but  there was no correlation between the two.  “What matters is responsible drinking.”

He said in some countries, even where alcohol businesses were mainstreamed into tourism industry, alcohol abuse is not an issue because people drink responsibly.

Meanwhile, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism, Mr Kitso Mokaila has told Ghanzi residents that government had plans to sell game to other countries.

Mr Mokaila said Batswana should position themselves to benefit from this dispensation as it would heighten prospects of game farming.

He said the ministry would engage communities and encourage them to set up or resuscitate Community Based Organisations. For his part, Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Mr Patrick Ralotsia told farmers that his ministry was considering improving packaging of beef to exploit every opportunity, saying that they pride themselves with its good taste.

Responding to the concern from one resident, Mr Modise Madumane, who said reduction of bean prices from P700 to P450 per 50kg bag in the past had demoralised farmers, Mr Ralotsia said that initially bean prices were increased to motivate people to produce more beans as there was low supply.

Due to this move, he said supply skyrocketed to the extent that supply surpassed demand, hence government took a decision to reduce the prices.

The minister said that even the P450 was still higher than the market price for beans as their market price was P250  per 50kg bag

Responding to concerns about delay in allocation of land in Ghanzi, Mr Thatanyaone Lebele from the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services said allocation in the Ghanzi township was delayed because the land was not serviced. ENDS