21 Feb 2019

The Department of Social and Community Development (S&CD) is experiencing mass expiry of food coupon cards.

Serowe Administrative Authority Sub-council chairperson, Mr Mpho Kooreme said they had reached their 10 year life span, and that the problem was not only peculiar to Serowe Administrative Authority (SAA), but was experienced across the country.

He revealed this during a council session in Serowe on February 18. Mr Kooreme indicated that they had put temporary measures in place to ensure deserving clients were assisted while awaiting replacement. 

“We have also extended working hours and work overtime on selected weekends during peak periods to replace obsolete cards,’’ Mr Kooreme informed councillors. 

He said the exercise was network based and experienced delays when the Internet was down. 

Mr Kooreme extended gratitude to partners who donated to the community. He also thanked President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi for donating food hampers to 800 children and 1 200 adults at Sehunou and Masiela Trust Fund in December. He stated that Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Deelopment, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso also donated food hampers to 90 Majwanaadipitse and 60 Malatswae destitute persons in December. He said the hampers were accompanied by clothes from Woolworths Stores. The chairperson informed councillors about the mid-term review exercise for NDP11 and DDP8 which were ongoing. He told them that financial year 2019/20 marked the end of the first half of NDP 11. 

Mr Kooreme said the review sought to reflect on the milestones achieved by the plan in relation to the approved projects and programmes, and to re-prioritise projects as per the district’s emerging needs. “As part of the exercise, community structures were consulted to gather the necessary information to aid chapter write-ups,’’ he said. He told councillors that due to limited budget to fund developmental projects, they have to find alternative means of financing public infrastructure projects to accelerate and improve infrastructure development. 

The chairperson stated that projects being considered for implementation through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) was the construction of another rural administration centre, including staff accommodation and a mini-bus rank at the old dumping site.

 Mr Kooreme further said government re-focused import-substitution as a policy tool to achieve economic diversification, adding that Botswana broadened the focus to develop the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) initiative. He noted that the initiative was adopted as a national strategy aimed at accelerating economic diversification. 

The EED initiative, he said, was based on the approach that government used its purchasing power to support local production of goods and services. Concerning the Co-operatives Societies Act amendment of 2013, he said Cabinet had approved the proposal to amend the Act. 

He noted that the Act provided for the registration of co-operative societies, and the effective management of the affairs of co-operative societies in accordance with acceptable business operational standards. ENDS