11 May 2021

Sehithwa residents have expressed disappointment about the slow construction pace of the long awaited service centre.

They also complained that there was no communication with the community about the cause of the delay.

 The residents aired their views during a kgotla meeting addressed by area MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama, who was accompanied by Members of Parliament for Maun East and Okavango constituencies.

Kgosi Boitiro Dithapo urged legislators to intervene, noting that they had been long promised the project, which was expected to benefit residents of Sehithwa and its catchment areas.

He said they were hopeful that the project would be completed within time, but they suspect it would take time as the contractor decried lack of materials within the region.

“I have been in this position for 43 years and we are still struggling to have a service centre, despite several promises by our leaders. Even former MPs failed to fulfil their promises of establishing the centre,” he lamented.

The project, which has been pending since 2008, despite efforts by residents to secure a plot and debush it, was halted in 2018 due to financial constraints.

Kgosi Dithapo also decried lack of developments in the village, noting that even though the population was growing at a fast pace, residents still travelled long distances to places like Maun, to access services.

Village Development Committee (VDC) vice chairperson, Ms Maletelo Molatlhiwa concurred that access to services was a challenge and wished the contractor could speed up the construction of the service centre.

 She also expressed worry that though many government departments had been allocated plots in Sehithwa, they were not developing them to bring services closer to the people.

Ms Molatlhiwa cited departments such as wildlife, roads and Central Transport Organization (CTO), stating that currently employees of the weighbridge were staying in caravans, yet the department owned a big plot.

She informed the gathering that the construction of kgotla shelter had been completed and fencing was ongoing, while VDC offices and some houses had been renovated.

She revealed that preparations for a community poultry project were ongoing as Khoemacau Mine had promised to provide 400 layer chickens for the VDC to run a sustainable project to uplift the livelihoods of the community.

In response to the comments, North West District Council chairperson, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotlho informed residents that they were equally concerned about the delay in implementation of the service centre project.

He said the contractor was experiencing some challenges as he sourced building materials from outside the region and suppliers take long to deliver as some ordered from outside the country.

He assured residents that they would monitor the project to ensure the contractor doubled the pace as they wanted the project to be completed within budget and benefit the community as expected.

Earlier, Mr Ntsogotlho said the plan was to make Sehithwa a sub-district, but lack of funds compelled government to reconsider and provide a service centre. He acknowledged that the government was preaching the decentralisation policy and hoped that it would be an answer to many challenges facing communities.

He said through the policy, they expected to see some areas being declared sub-districts and some fully fledged councils. “We are pinning our hopes on the policy to benefit our area as we want Okavango sub-district to be independent and service the community fully,” he added. ends