16 Jan 2022

Vice President Slumber Tsogwane has been briefing residents of Mokobaxane on COVID-19 related issues.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in the village Friday, he encouraged them to take COVID-19 vaccine booster shots which would soon be rolled out across the country.

Residents were also told that vaccination  of children aged 12-17 was about to  begin.

He disclosed that a supplementary budget had been approved for the Ministry of Health and Wellness to procure more vaccines.

Mr Tsogwane said government was focused on devising a strategy to reduce the effects of COVID-19 on government coffers given that the economy had already been affected by the pandemic.

He said depletion of government coffers and the drying up of revenue streams  meant stagnation of development and failure to attain high income economy status.

“Government has to develop new strategies to enhance economic growth and the most crucial issue is to fight COVID-19. We need more money to boost the economy in order to win the fight against this pandemic,” he said.  

He said the Reset Agenda was a way of boosting economic growth.

Government’s other aim was to enhance production and create employment opportunities hence the recent ban on the importation of certain vegetables, he said.

Mr Tsogwane implored public officers to align the government machinery with President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s priorities.

“All ministries should be aligned. We cannot achieve Vision 2036 goals if government ministries are not aligned,” he said.

The vice president also stressed the need for Batswana to continue adhering to COVD-19 protocols owing to the alarming increase in the number of cases and deaths.

“We must all be encouraged to follow the health protocols and ensure that the situation does not get out of hand.

The new variant, Omicron spreads easily and very fast and therefore let me encourage all to abide by COVID-19 protocols as well as to take booster shots which will be rolled out soon,” Mr Tsogwane said.

For her part, the Village Development Committee (VDC) secretary, Ms Boipelego Keepilwe, appealed for gravelling of Kedia-Mokobaxane road, construction of sewerage system, expansion and upgrading of health post as well as provision of accommodation for public officers. Ends