29 Nov 2020

Boteti East MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe has beseeched government to capacitate and  improve public service welfare.

In his State-of-the-Nation debate, Mr Lelatisitswe explained that the public service sector played an important role in service provision and government policy implementation particularly in rural areas where the majority of the citizenry resides.

 Mr Lelatisitswe also  called for consideration of  the progression of public servants in out stations,  highlighting that their proximity to their department headquarters should not deprive them promotion opportunities if they excelled in their duties.

He said the playing field for both public servants in urban areas and rural areas should be leveled to ensure a fair and transparent progression. 

 Moreover, he said government should also consider the stay of public servants in rural areas, saying overstating  might affect their progression and demotivate them.

He added that  there was need  for departments to implement transfer policy.

Mr Lelatisitswe also indicated that shortage of accommodation for public servants remained a thorny issue that needed to be resolved.

“It is no secret that some of  the privately owned  houses in rural areas do not meet some of the standards set for government rentals, hence it is important for government to resolve public servants accommodation woes in rural areas,” he said.

He said it was pleasing to note that affirmative action remained viable to development of remote area communities since they still faced social-economic hindrances which largely emanated from their geographic location and proximity to social amenities.

Mr Lelatisitswe explained that major milestones had been achieved in developing the livelihoods in rural areas through the affirmative action frame work and applauded the civil service for spearheading such initiative.

He however pleaded with all relevant stakeholders to work cohesively in the implementation of the affirmative action frame work in Boteti as some graduates in his constituency were unemployed though they qualified for employment under the affirmative action framework.

Mr Lelatisitswe further decried the spike in human-wildlife conflict cases in Mmatshumo village due to the village’s proximity to the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, thus challenged the relevant authorities to act swiftly in addressing the issue. 

He said urged the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to decentralise service delivery, indicating that it was costly for residents to get serviced by Central District Council. 

He said it was fitting for Boteti to be upgraded in to a fully fleshed district and also called for the delimitation of Boteti into three constituencies due to the vastness of the area.

 Mr Lelatisitswe complained of saline water in his constituency, which he said necessitated construction of a water treatment plant in Letlhakane.

 Further, Mr Lelatisitswe said it was important for the six kilometre borehole radius allocation to be reviewed due to the current land shortage in many areas. ends