07 Nov 2021

 Come January 2023, residents of Gaborone’s Block 6 location will have a school closer home for their children. 

This means children who have hitherto been attending school in Phase 2, Block 5 and Mogoditshane will no longer have to travel the long distances to school. Giving a keynote address at the school’s ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday, the Assistant Minister of Local and Rural Development, Mr Sethabelo Modukanele said provision of the school was yet another one of government’s efforts towards realization of vision 2036. 

Mr Modukanele said the project was a full school package of 22 classrooms, 22 staff houses, ablution blocks, administration block, library, computer lab and kitchen as well as furniture and equipment. 

He noted that the area had been on the priority list of proposals in previous urban development plans. 

The project came about as a consequence of the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan strategy (ERTP), an initiative established in response to COVID-19, whose objective was to support the restoration of economic activity and to ensure economic resilience, he said. 

Mr Modukanele further revealed that the construction of classrooms and offices to the tune of P50.5m had been awarded to Banco Enterprises, while Tsimakgosi Construction would build staff houses. 

The tender amount for staff housing was about P23.9m, he said. He challenged the contractors and the council project implementation team to ensure that the project was delivered within the budget and on time. The area MP, Ms Annah Mokgethi and the City Mayor Mr Father Maphongo expressed gratitude for the project, saying it would benefit Block 6 pupils and the community at large. 

They also thanked the district leadership and other key stakeholders for their cooperation during consultations to identify a plot for the school. ends