26 Feb 2019

Mayor of Francistown, Ms Sylvia Muzila, on February 25 urged the city council to pursue the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) policy and implementation framework.

PPP was an alternative means of financing public infrastructure projects to accelerate and improve infrastructure development as well as create conducive environment for stronger public and private sector partnerships.

Ms Muzila said this at the beginning of a full council meeting in Francistown on February 25.

She said it was vital for the city council to not only align to the PPP policy but to comply thereby. 

She stated that although the city council was in compliance, the pace with which it had taken to the initiative was not satisfactory.

“We are in compliance but the only challenge is that we are doing it at a snail’s pace. We should continue implementing the PPP framework as we have the assets that we could use to generate income for the development of this city,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ms Muzila informed the house that the council abattoir was now up to the required standard and was opened to the public last week and had an influx of both farmers and the business community bringing their cattle for slaughter.

She thus appealed to farmers, butcheries and individuals who slaughtered cattle to take full advantage of the facility, which was one of the best in the country and with a slaughter capacity of 500 cattle per week.

Councillors learnt that after a long-drawn-out tussle with Tati Company to provide Francistown City Council with access to Farm NQ 91, the former had issued the city council with the keys to the farm; a development Mayor Muzila said needed FCC to come up with initiatives that could be undertaken at the farm and productively put it to good use. ends