12 Aug 2020

A patrol route from Sikwane to Phala Camp is reported to have overgrown vegetation thus resulting in poor visibility during patrols.

Responding to a question in Parliament on August 10, Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services Minister, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila, said the route was last maintained in 2016/17 financial year.

“This route is however susceptible to vegetation regrowth due to minimal or infrequent use and since these are not all weather roads, they also easily develop gullies during the rainy season,” he stated.

Furthermore, Mr Mzwinila said maintenance of patrol routes was a continuous process for which budget provisions were made annually to cover portions of the international boundary.

He said the programme took approximately five years to cover the whole international boundary and it was anticipated that the area in question would be revisited during the 2021/22 financial year.

He said the average annual budget that covered maintenance of patrol routes was P5 million.

However, he said the amount covered other components including border reaffirmation and mending of border fences, hence the five-year cyclical programme.

Mr Mzwinila also indicated that the programme involved stakeholders,  among them, ministries of Defence, Justice and Security, Agricultural Development and Food Security, Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, who also contributed  resources that might lead to shorter turnaround time than the estimated five-year programme.

Mr Mzwinila was answering Mochudi East MP, Mr Mabuse Pule, who had asked if the minister was aware that there was no clearly marked and visible patrol route from Sikwane Border Post to Phala Camp.

He also wanted to know what plans were in place to clear the route and when this would be done. ENDS