16 May 2021

 Kgosi Moemedi Telekelo of Ranaka has credited the national curfew for the reduction of crime in the village.

He said in an interview recently that the crime curve had gone down as most crimes which occurred at drinking outlets and bars had seen a decline. 

He said cases of break-ins or burglary had also declined due to movement restrictions arising from the curfew.  On other issues, Kgosi Telekelo said as custodians of Tswana culture, dikgosi were playing a leading role in advising and ensuring that people observed COVID-19 protocols.

He said he always offered a word of advice to his subjects to avoid unnecessary movement, saying where possible, only one trusted family member should be sent to buy groceries.

He said many had heeded the message but that there were still a few who either did not wear masks properly or not at all while others only put them on when they saw law enforcement officers.  

Meanwhile, Kgosi Telekelo said developments were only trickling into Ranaka due to COVID-19. 

He thanked government for availing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Some of the visible developments in the village include the thatched kgotla shelter that was done through constituency community projects (CCP) funding as well as the community hall and the social and community development offices.Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Ms Botsang Phatshwane said they were doing everything in their power to bring developments to the village although there were budgetary constraints. 

Ms Phatshwane was of the view that the VDC should augment government efforts by raising funds for some of the projects.

She gave the example of six VDC houses that it was renting out, saying the money accrued was used for development purposes.

She said they were also exploring ways to electrify five VDC houses that were currently not let. 

She said VDC also had a day care centre and a community hall that generated income, lamenting however that the prescribed two-hour limit and 50 people per session requirements were a blow to their business. ends