07 Oct 2013

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) regional director for operation in the North East, Mr Oupa Masesane has said it is easy to scoop position one but it is difficult to retain the position for a successive period.

Speaking at the clean-up campaign commemoration in Francistown on October 4, Mr Masesane noted that being crowned a champion for two consecutive years was an indication that residents of Francistown were determined to clean their city at all times.

He stressed that such an award should be an encouragement to them to do beyond their expectation at next year’s commemoration, so that they could be crowed the winner again. Mr Masesane added that keeping a consistent top position will help attract investors to the city as per the council’s Vision for 2022, which aimed at attracting investors into the city.

He noted that Francistown as a city was behind in terms of developments and through the commitment, which the residents had shown together with their leadership in keeping their city clean, could help attract investors who will add to its development.

The regional director said with more investors setting up their business around the city, it will create employment opportunities for young people who are the most hit by unemployment. On other issues, he implored parents to pass responsibilities of taking care of their surroundings to their children so that they can also understand and appreciate the importance of caring for the environment.

In addition, he said government arranged for the commemoration of the clean-up campaigns to be held annually instead of every two years as is done with the World commemoration. Francistown was crowned at this year’s commemoration held in Ghanzi, ahead of the capital city Gaborone.

Meanwhile, the organising committee and head of delegation for the World Commemoration Day, Reverend Phillip Butale commended the residents for keeping their surroundings clean. He emphasised that the clean-up campaign should start at households with parents teaching their children to clean and protect their environment.

Reverend Butale said nowadays, the world at large was calling on people to protect their environment by preventing pollution at all costs, because it had been seen that pollution led to global warm. He however said although they scooped position one, there was a decline in the per cent they got since they scored 73 per cent as compared to last year where they scored 78 per cent for the same position.

Reverend Butale stressed that these should be a challenge to the residents of Francistown as a whole to improve on their cleanliness in order to score better marks next year. Still at the event, wards were awarded prizes for the cleanest ward and the first position went to Monarch South followed by Monarch East scooping second prize and Itekeng ward coming third.

In primary schools, Aerodrome and Tatitown in Francistown West constituency were awarded first prize and runners up respectively, while Selepa Junior Secondary School came first in secondary schools followed by Mater Spei and Francistown Senior School.

In the waste fair category, Mr Tlhabologo Toteng, who is an employee at Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) and scooped position three at the national competition, was awarded first prize and received a trophy, certificate and P400. Ends