07 Dec 2021

Beneficiaries of President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’ smallstock initiative have been commended for contributing to the success of the programme by embracing the spirit of sharing.

Debating the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Kanye South MP, Dr Lemogang Kwape hailed beneficiaries in his constituency for not being selfish with the rams and bucks they had acquired through the initiative, adding that it was laudable that they were sharing their donated stock with other farmers within their localities.

Still emphasising the success of the initiative, Dr Kwape noted that the programme was set to boost the morale of small stock farmers particularly that most beneficiaries had already started to receive offspring from the donated bucks and rams.

Regarding the current ploughing season, the MP encouraged Batswana to take advantage of the rains that most parts of the country were continuing to receive.

The lawmaker also spoke of the vital role that tourism played in economic diversification and growth, saying it was critical to channel efforts towards promoting and growing the domestic tourism sub-sector.

On a different issue, Dr Kwape praised Batswana in the creative industry for their sterling work.

He said Botswana’s creatives were highly talented and were positioned to reap great benefits from their trade should they fully explore the diverse paths they were pursuing.

To reach even greater heights, he advised them to take advantage of technology so as to reach more extensive markets.

On issues of Kanye South constituency, Dr Kwape decried the bad state of internal roads in Kanye and called for the paving of such roads to be hastened.

He noted that the paving of internal roads was a good initiative especially since paving blocks could be sourced from citizen-owned businesses, which  would in turn contribute to the empowerment of locally-owned businesses.

The legislator further asked government to connect Tsonyane to the national electricity grid, explaining that the village was the only one that was yet to have power.

Chobe MP, Mr Machana Shamukuni also contributed to the debate, encouraging government to continue investing in research and innovation.

Mr Shamukuni commended government for committing to avail funding for these fields, noting that that would add impetus to efforts to attain a knowledge-based economy.

In addition, the MP emphasised the need to strengthen technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Botswana.

He observed that many fast-transforming economies had invested heavily in TVET; hence Botswana also needed to follow a similar path.

On agriculture, Mr Shamukuni noted that the constituency carried great potential to feed the nation but natural disasters often thwarted farmers’ efforts to feed the nation.

He said in addition to the damage caused by wildlife in ploughing fields, the periodic floods that often ravaged parts of the Chobe region greatly compromised the region’s as well as the entire country’s food security.

On tourism, he lamented the discovery of the new COVID-19 variant and the subsequent travel bans that were imposed on Botswana and other Southern African countries.

He said the travel bans would dent Botswana’s tourism industry as they had come at a time when the industry was edging towards getting back to normalcy.

Mr Shamukuni appealed for the lifting of the bans particularly since the economies of the affected African countries were reliant on tourism.

The MP further requested government to consider constructing a third junior secondary school in the constituency.He said the two junior secondary schools were over-subscribed due to the rapid expansion of the region’s population caused by migration to the Chobe area in search of economic opportunities,.

He said the constituency’s children attended senior secondary schools far from home, a situation that rendered parents incapable of playing an active role in their children’s education. ends