27 Feb 2022

Chobe District councillors have decried the bad state of the Kachaikau-Parakarungu road.

They raised the complaints when responding to the speech by the chairperson, Councillor Amos Mabuku, who had informed them that Section A of the 32km road was completed, while the remaining section was still under litigation.

Cllr Simasiku Matengu noted that the road was important as it connected the district with the production area.

He lamented the delay in gravelling the road, adding that it mostly damages buses, council and government vehicles, which use it on a daily basis.

Still on the chairperson’s speech, Cllr Matengu acknowledged government for allocating Controlled Hunting Area (CH) 1 and CH8 to the community trusts in Chobe.

He urged the trusts to adhere to their constitutions and the Community Based Resource Management (CBRM) Policy when disposing the hunting quotas, saying failure to adhere to due processes would lead to unrest in the community, as the boards would not be delivering on their mandate.      

Cllr Paul Chabaesele said the portion from Satau to Parakarungu was appalling.

He said it was disappointing that though equipment was available in the district, maintenance of problematic spots was not done.     

In her submission, Cllr Helen Diau decried the condition of the road, saying it was similar to roads for ungazetted settlements.

She also complained about the ‘deplorable’ condition of Kasane primary hospital.

Meanwhile, Cllr Diau noted that children always did well on their primary school leaving exams, but performed badly at junior secondary schools, saying she suspected that the environment and lack of teachers’ accommodation contributed to the poor showing.

She expressed hope that the results would improve as funds were availed to maintain Chobe and expand Liswaani I junior secondary schools.

Cllr Boitumelo Kanyetu said tender appeals delayed implementation of developments.

He observed that the completed section of the Kachikau-Parakarungu road had already deteriorated, saying when the court ruling for the other section is delivered, the entire 32km road would be needing major maintenance.

He said councillors had been complaining about the poor state of the hospital for the past 10 years, but nothing had been done.

Cllr Kanyetu said a lot was not going well at the hospital, revealing that some employees were not paid overtime and there was no security, which endangers the lives of the patients.

He also called on Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) to ensure that all waste water manholes were covered to alleviate the problem of having foreign objects being thrown into them.

Cllr Tengenyane Tuelo appealed to government to come up with a policy to stop chain shops from selling commodities such as fat cakes to encourage growth of the informal sector.

He applauded government for appointing Mr Machana Shamukuni as a full minister, saying that it was a first for Chobe.

Cllr Shababa Munihango complained about the poor performance of some officers at the hospital, suggesting that their incompetence contributed to its poor state, saying if officers were competent, the P1 million in one of the hospital’s votes could have been used to attend to some defects before the end of the financial year.

Cllr Munihango implored WUC to come up with a proper maintenance plan for the waste water system. ENDS