21 Feb 2021

Members of Parliament have continued to advocate for developments in their constituencies when debating the 2021/22 national budget.

Serowe South MP, Mr Leepetswe Lesedi said two bridges along the Serowe–Moiyabana road had collapsed, making it difficult to travel between the two villages.

He called for the maintenance of roads which had been damaged by rains such as the Serowe-Molepolole and Serowe-Palapye roads.

MP Lesedi further said the Moiyabana-Kalamare road needed upgrading as it was too narrow. He also called  for adequate funding of land boards.

He also complained that Radisele, Mokgware, Mogonye and Tewane villages did not have reliable water but were less than 20 kilometres from the North-South Water Carrier pipeline.

He said patients isolated at Old Sekgoma Memorial Hospital in Serowe faced acute shortage of water while those admitted at Sir Ketumile Teaching Hospital complained of hunger.

On agriculture, he said Serowe had long been promised a service centre but that it was removed from National Development Plan (NDP) 11.

He said roads leading to dairy farms constructed under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) were poorly built and needed maintenance.

MP Lesedi said schools in his constituency performed badly in the just released JC results. He singled out Mothamo Junior Secondary School, saying it was over crowded and that they had been promised two port-a-cabins.

The Serowe South MP said he was against the increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) and the carbon tax that would be imposed on second-hand imported vehicles.

For his part, Tlokweng MP, Mr Thulagano Segokgo said they needed internal roads and storm water drainage systems, adding that he hoped they would be undertaken through funds allocated to the council.

He noted that Tlokweng’s population was growing at 6.5 per cent per annum, adding that it was important to provide developments to keep up with demand.

He added that his constituency should have another primary school and a unified secondary school to relieve pupils from travelling to Gaborone and St Josephs.

On other issues, he said Maratanang and Letlapeng wards faced acute water shortage.

The Tlokweng MP also said he was concerned about the number of people who died due to COVID-19. He urged all politicians to desist from making reckless statements that social distancing, wearing of masks and sanitisation of hands had failed to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

He said it was important for the nation to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols as even countries which had started to vaccinate its citizens still kept using masks.

He also said it was important for the country to source the vaccine that would work on the local variant.

MP Segokgo further said in his opinion the country was not experiencing the first wave, adding that the country flattened the curve in October, but that things got out of hand during the festive season.

Mr Segokgo, who is also Minister of Transport and Communications, said while he agreed that second-hand imported vehicles enabled Batswana to venture into various businesses, they had realised that some were over 15-years-old and failed to offer returns on investment.

He noted that they had not yet undertaken emission tests from such vehicles and that it was something the ministry would consider.

On VAT, he said it remained low in the SADC region, adding that he was disappointed that MPs were against the increase yet they demanded developments for their constituencies. He said he was wondering how they balanced between revenue and expenditure.

He further said MPs should embrace the PPP model, saying it was the best mode for infrastructure development.ENDS