21 Aug 2019

Shashe West MP, Mr Fidelis Molao, has informed residents of Chadibe that a tender for Mandunyane-Mathangwane road is now out.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting in Chadibe on August 19, Mr Molao said the tender, which started floating beginning of August shall go through all the tendering processes.

He said the actual work would start at the beginning of next year and be completed within 36 months.

Mr Molao, also Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security,  explained that there were two changes in the initial plan.

The changes included a main road that passes through Shashemooke, Borolong, and Chabibe.

The other change, he said, included the incorporation of a bypass aimed at diverting high traffic volumes of heavy loads trucks away from villages. 

This road would pass through ploughing fields of some villages to connect with A3 along Mafhungo/Hubona area. 

Mr Molao therefore urged all those marked to move to do so in order to make way for the road project.

He said they should not wait to be forced to move as doing so would delay the commencement of the project.

Meanwhile, residents expressed mixed feelings regarding changes on the project noting that some people had already changed their residential plots into business in an effort to take advantage of the anticipated high volume of trucks expected to pass through their villages.

 Mr Otsile Mokobela who resides in Chadibe, said some residents had made arrangements with investors to open businesses such as filling station and food outlets along the new roads.  

He said residents were confident that the anticipated road would  contribute to the local economy and create employment.

He thus said with these changes on the projects, they were going to lose out on potential investors. 

In response, Mr Molao advised residents to consider the long term benefits of the roads.

He said the road would have long term benefits since it was a bypass from Francistown and it would divert traffic away from the city reducing congestion in the process.

The MP pointed out that upon completion of the Kazungula Bridge, traffic was going to considerably upsurge and the high volume of trucks passing through villages might pose challenges, which might be avoided by diverting the road away from residential. ENDS