23 Jun 2020

Consultation with the community is key before commencement of any developmental project, deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mr Garekwe Mojaphoko has said.

He said this when responding to some issues raised by a delegation of permanent secretaries who visited Mohembo Bridge project recently.

Mr Mojaphoko said community involvement was fundamental in terms of the law, adding that such should have occurred when an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was conducted.

The EIA Act, he said, encouraged consultation with the community before approval of a project and appreciated that the contractor engaged at the bridge followed right channels to engage all key stakeholders including the community.

The project’s senior resident engineer, Mr Veeranagowda Partel, concurred that community involvement was imperative noting that they held stakeholder meetings including village leadership on quarterly basis.

He appreciated that the inclusion of the views of the affected and interested public helped to ensure that the decision making process was equitable and fair while affording them a more informed choice and better environmental outcome

Recently, he said, they consulted with stakeholders on issues of assessment of fields affected by Xakao borrow pit, which was undertaken by Tawana Land board.

The community of Mohembo East, he said, was also consulted on commencement of road works on the left bank of the project and consultation was also done with leadership on identification of old graves along the temporary road.

Mr Partel also pointed out that the contractor took into account environmental issues, adding that environmental parameters being monitored during the construction phase of the project included water and air quality as well as noise  monitoring and waste management.

In terms of employment creation, he told the delegation that the project had employed 557 people of which 492 were Batswana including people living with disabilities while 65 were expatriates.

Meanwhile, the Mohembo project is expected to provide 24/7 river crossing; provide reliable access to services, open up the district for future economic activities and make it feasible for expansion of future road network and improve tourism in the area.

Mr Partel said the project was a gateway to the Okavango Delta and Chobe District and that it complied with UNESCO’s 1000th World Heritage Site and requirements of the Ramsar Convention on wet lands.

He appreciated that the bridge was complementary to regional tourism and that it was blending with nature and environment. ENDS