17 Jan 2021

Coronavirus has drained national coffers, says Member of Parliament for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi.

He said the situation was made worse by the fact that the country had a debt of over P30.5 billion.

Mr Mmolotsi said this during a meeting with Tshwaragano ward leadership in Francistown on recently.

He said the dire financial situation had left government with no choice but to further source funds from other countries in order to continue with development projects.

He said if the status quo remained, the debt was likely to increase because the country was not able to generate enough money for itself.

The MP said P2 billion had been spent to procure medical equipment and renovate health facilities so as to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

The dire financial situation, Mr Mmolotsi said, had resulted in some projects been abandoned.

The Francistown South MP  appealed to the youth to follow set protocols in the fight against COVID-19.

“Let me urge the youth and the community at large to follow regulations to avoid the upsurge of the pandemic,” he said.

Mr Mmolotsi also briefed Tshwaragano leaders about motions tabled at the 12^th Parliament such as the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Amendment Bill. 

He said through the bill, government wanted to give civil servants eligibility to be appointed judges at BDF.

He said those who would be appointed judges would not be required to undergo BDF training, as the appointment would be made by the President.

The MP also highlighted the Constitutional Amendment Bill, saying it would not allow any elected member of any political party to leave the party and join another  without vacating the seat.

For her part, Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Ookeditse Lenas briefed the area MP about some projects undertaken.

She said the guard room which they had been working on was complete. 

She also stated that Ipelegeng offices were about to be completed.

However, Ms Lenas expressed concern about increasing crime in the ward, saying the perpetrators were mostly the youth. 

She implored the leadership of the ward to work together to curb the crime rate. Ends