19 Jan 2020

Ground breaking for construction of the Lobatse Leather Park will take place in April, this year.

Minister of Finance and Economic Development Dr Thapelo Matsheka, who is also Member of Parliament for Lobatse, explained this during kgotla meetings held at Peleng and Woodhall locations recently.

He pointed that government recently allocated P400 million for implementation of the project after years of uncertainty over whether it would ever begin.

“It is a project that we must implement because it is one of the things which is going to create employment in our town and also transform the economy,” said Dr Matsheka.

He said he had engaged with the leadership of Local Enterprises Agency, which was tasked with implementing the project, to ensure smooth implementation.

“They have assured me that all the necessary planning activities will be complete soon and that ground-breaking for the project is going to be done in April,” said the minister.

The projects was conceptualised more than five years ago, but suffered a series of delays which included lack of funding.

A 38-hectare piece of land in Thema location has been set aside for the project.

When completed, the Leather Park will provide large scale activities in leather processing and manufacturing of different leather products.

It is also expected to lead to creation of more than 5 000 jobs.

Dr Matsheka pointed that government would be focusing on implementing these kinds of the projects over the next five years, geared towards transforming the economy and the lives of Batswana.

He therefore urged authorities and residents of Lobatse to also prioritise projects that have the potential to stir economic activities in the town and create employment for residents.

“When we think about potential projects, we must focus on those that will transform the outlook of this place,” he said.

He promised residents that he would engage his team of councillors in Lobatse and the technocrats to ensure there was good infrastructure development and service delivery.

Dr Matsheka said plans were in place to upgrade Athlone Hospital and to construct sewerage system at Woodhall location.

He further promised to engage relevant authorities to speed up residential plot allocation.

Residents have repeatedly complained about lack of access to residential plots in Lobatse.

“There are 3 900 plots which are in the process of allocation. The land was purchased a long time ago, but the plots have not been allocated up to know. I don’t know what has delayed allocation. I have asked the mayor and work force to allocate those plots.

 The main aim of this administration is to bring services to the people to transform their livelihood,” he said.

The minister further said he would engage Lobatse Town Council (LTC) to find out how the ward development committees could be allowed to use some of the open spaces in the town for socio-economic activities.

This was after the Lobatse Umbrella Development Committee chairperson Ms Zubeida Raphael complained that their requests to use open spaces for community development activities were being ignored by LTC leadership. Ends