21 Jan 2020

Medie residents have pleaded with the government to tar the road connecting their village with Lentsweletau. 

The residents made the request during a kgotla meeting addressed by Member of Parliament for Lentsweletau-Mmopane, who is also Assistant minister of Basic Education Ms Nnaniki Makwinja recently. 

They said the road should be tarred as a matter of urgency because it was in a very bad condition caused by trucks from the Masama Coal mine. 

They said the road was slippery during rains.  

The residents also complained about the slow pace of development in their area., saying it had been a long time since the land board had allocated plots in the area. 

They also decried a high rate of unemployment in the village.

Meanwhile the VDC chairperson Ms Kgomotso Moatlhodi said shortage of government offices was a concern, citing the social worker, the agricultural demonstrator and the police as those who did not have enough office space.

 Ms Moatlhodi requested that the number of police officers and nurses be increased. 

“It is very difficult for the police to help out in the village because they do not have a car and also their office is very small. This makes it difficult for them to help victims in private. They also need a holding cell”, explained Ms Moatlhodi.

Ms Moatlhodi further said it was imperative for the clinic to be upgraded because the population had also increased, saying also that there was shortage of medication in the clinic especially for non-communicable diseases. 

She also pleaded with the government to consider changing operation hours of the clinic to 24 hours.

 She also explained that they got financial help from the mine such as the electrification of the school and the village.She said though the mine had positively contributed to the development of the village, it produced lots of dust and smoke that could affect their health.

For her part, Ms Makwinja said the government was working hard to develop Medie as evidenced by the opening of the mine to create employment for people of the village and the surrounding. 

Mrs Makwinja noted that Masama Coal mine being based in Medie would facilitate infrastructural development, noting that government officials would take into consideration the concerns of the people.

The assistant minister appealed to the youth venture into agriculture. 

She applauded the school head and teachers of Medie Primary school for the 77 per cent pass rates. ENDS