25 Nov 2020

Gaborone South MP, Mr Dumezweni Mthimkhulu has applauded government’s efforts in curbing the spread of coronavirus. 

In his contribution to the State-of-the-Nation Address, Mr Mthimkhulu said Botswana was one of the few countries doing well in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, the response and prevention activities.

Mr Mthimkhulu, who is also the Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, said the BDP-led government advocated for access to land for all. 

He said government had good policies for decent housing and home ownership, but the challenge was the provision of serviced land. 

He noted that the provision of housing for Batswana was still a challenge and called for the review of Botswana Housing Corporation’s Act to address the challenges. 

He said it was extremely costly to buy a BHC housing unit as compared to private property developers.

Mr Mthimkhulu said the problem with allocating unserviced land was that the cost of bringing services at a later stage would be extremely expensive.

He observed that the SONA expressed clear programmes to help Batswana and said the BDP placed high emphasis on youth employment.

He thus expressed hope that the P5 million set aside for the establishment of the national state theatre would create jobs during construction and operation. 

He said the theatre inspired the creation of locally produced content.

 Mr Mthimkhulu called for the review of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, saying there were endless reports of police harassment at suspected unlicensed liquor outlets. 

For his part, Francistown East MP, Mr Buti Billy said the SONA was aligned to the ideals of Vision 2036 and the BDP election manifesto. 

He said the whole ambition was to create jobs and focus on the social upliftment of Batswana.

He said the sex offenders register would assist in mitigating against the ills of gender-based violence. 

He noted that there were varying factors that led to gender-based violence that needed utmost attention and thus appealed to the nation to uplift family values. 

He said government had to empower women and help them make informed decisions. 

Mr Billy applauded the Ministry of Basic Education for the ambitious Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan that would allow for a balance between education and skills requirements.

Mr Billy, who is also Assistant Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development,  said the entertainment industry was hard hit by the pangs of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said the creative sector could create jobs such as film and television production. 

He appealed to those in the entertainment industry to make use of technology to market their products.

He appealed to government to make use of natural resources in Francistown, saying they were capable of profiting the community and turn fortunes around. 

Mr Billy complained about the high number of applicants on the waiting list for land allocation in his area and felt the remedy to the problem could be the provision of unserviced land. 

He supported the recently introduced small stock initiative and implored government to identify and explore the market for budding small stock farmers.

Mr Billy said his ministry wa currently reviewing the internship programme, also taking into consideration the allowance and conditions of service for intern officers. ends