29 Oct 2013

Kgosi Ramosinyi Radipitse of Tonota has appealed to residents to work together to develop their village.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Tonota on Monday, October 29, Kgosi Radipitse said residents verbally attacked one another and even blamed each other for lack of services and developments.

He said although government was the main service provider, residents also had a role to play in the development of their village. He urged them to be part of the decision making process through attending kgotla meetings. “If we can work as unit, we will together make our own developments,” he said.

He said self-reliance started with collective thinking and sharing ideas, adding that when a decision was taken, all the people would have had their say. Kgosi Radipitse urged residents to respect each other during consultative meetings, adding that misunderstandings and conflicts did not add any value.

Furthermore, he urged residents to practice cultural activities that were done before and during the rainy season, saying perhaps the rains would come as expected during the rainy season.

Kgosi Radipitse said the country had to produce enough food to feed its people instead of relying on imports. Meanwhile, the senior nursing officer at Masedi Clinic, Ms Thatayaone Montebatsi acknowledged that there were long queues at the clinic. She explained that it was due to shortage of staff.

Ms Montebatsi noted that the majority of nurses were young graduates who were still being trained. She said they were faced with a shortage of doctors, noting that they had three doctors who also attended to other clinics in the surrounding villages such as Mabesekwa.

Regarding cleanliness, she said, they had since acquired equipment and chemicals needed to clean the clinic. She also informed residents that there were changes at the Ministry of Health regarding ambulances, saying as a way of improving referral services, all ambulances had been transferred to Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown.

Ms Montebatsi urged Tonota residents  to make use of the toll free call centre number 997 in times of need. ENDS