31 Jan 2021

Ntlo ya Dikgosi has adopted a motion requesting government to upgrade the Tsabong- Hukuntsi road.

Tabling the motion Kgosi Moeti Monyamane of Kgalagadi North region indicated that the road was the shortest link between the district headquarters and sub-headquarters, saying upgrading of the road was overdue. He said it was one of the first roads in Botswana and government had long promised to upgrade it.

Kgosi Monyamane explained that people had now resorted to using the longest route that passes through Sekoma which was about 500 kilometers, while Tsabong – Hukuntsi was less than 300 kilometers.

Upgrading the road, he said would save the government a lot of money in terms of fuel and vehicles maintenance, adding that the government should carry out research to determine the costs incurred using the long route as compared to the shorter one if it was tarred. The road, he said would assist residents to easily access services from Lobu small stock farm, abattoirs as well as other services from different government departments.

He highlighted that Kgalagadi region being a farming area, farmers encountered challenges when transporting animals to abattoirs, citing animals losing weight before reaching destination, breakdown of vehicles as well as lot of money needed for petrol. “All this lead to reduced profits for farmers,” he added.

Kgosi Monyamane said the belief by some that tarring the road would reduce tourism opportunities was baseless since there was no research conducted to support that.

When contributing to the motion, Kgosi David Toto of Kgalagadi South reiterated Kgosi Monyamane’s contention that the road could save the government a lot of money since it was the shortest route linking Tsabong and Hukuntsi.

He explained that the road would assist in avoiding issues where patients spend a lot of time on the road during referrals to Tsabong hospital, adding that it was also the shortest route from Tsabong to Namibia and to other areas such as Kimberly.

Kgosi Esau Molehele of Ghanzi East, who also supported the motion said villages in Kgalagadi region were said to be far from each other but that was not the case, noting that the problem was lack of proper roads linking them hence the need to upgrade the road.

He argued that upgrading of the road would not in any way affect tourism.

Responding to the motion the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Sethabelo Modukanele indicated that his ministry was aware of the need to provide Kgalagadi district with an all-weather link road between Tsabong and Hukuntsi, as the road was the shortest route linking Hukuntsi and the district headquarters, Tsabong.

Mr Modukanele said there was no doubt that the upgrading of the road would enhance mobility and access for the community as well as contributing to tourism in the Mabuasehube Game reserve.

However, he said the country had been faced with challenges in the past as well as present time, which had constrained ability to deliver all desired projects, citing HIV/AIDS, cattle lung disease, COVID-19 pandemic and low sales of diamonds as examples.

He said the ministry would propose for the inclusion of the Tsabong-Hukuntsi road in future developments plans. ENDS