02 Mar 2020

The overwhelming public request to use open spaces has led the Mahalapye Sub-district Council to consider coming up with guidelines to regulate the use of open spaces.

Addressing the Mahalapye Sub-district Council meeting on Friday, principal physical planner, Mr Benjamin Bogopa, said the council had been experiencing requests from clients to use open spaces for various activities.

“However, due to lack of guidelines, we have been unable to allocate or designate open spaces for such activities. The guidelines will also enable the council to generate income through Public-Private Partnership and through agreements for the development of identified potential spaces,” he said.

He emphasised the fundamental need for a venue for recreation and promotion of social functions, as well as preservation of land to meet the needs of present and future generation. “Open spaces also come with a variety of benefits such as supporting human health, but acting as relaxation and exercising space. The spaces also preserve the natural beauty of flora and fauna,” he said.

Mr Bogopa said open spaces that were left undeveloped over long periods of time, either due to inadequate funds or lack of technical capacity, encouraged unpleasant activities such as crime, pollution and many other illicit acts.

Mahalapye South’s Councillor Makhubu Mogalakwe advised the council to look beyond open spaces, among them some old government buildings, which had turned into white elephants. She said such abandoned buildings could be beneficial to the sub-council.

Shoshong South’s Councillor Samuel Mphoyakgosi said open spaces where people operated botanical gardens should not depend on water from Water Utilities Corporation standpipes, but rather should consider ground water.

He also urged the council to prioritise on women, especially those who did not benefit in youth programmes, saying such could contribute to improving their lives.

“We hope that this initiative will be open to the benefit of all. We do not want a situation where only a few are favoured,” Tshikinyega’s Councillor Orelebile Baatweng said.  ENDS