08 Sep 2022

The P10 million constituency community projects (CCP) funds cannot address all infrastructural development needs.

In fact, CCP funds are meant to augment projects from the local and central governments with communities determining the kind of projects they needed prioritised, Bobonong MP, Mr Taolo Lucas said during a kgotla meeting in Bobonong recently.

“Some people present CCP as if it can address all infrastructure development challenges in the constituency such that each time the electorate call for some developments, like tarmac roads, they are told to include such under the CCP projects,” Mr Lucas said.

While acknowledging that CCP projects were beneficial to communities and that the office of the MP was the final arbiter on the projects to undertake, the legislator expressed concern at departments and officers that directed constituents to CCP each time they complained about developments.

In his presentation, the legislator said the P10m was divided amongst the wards with some wards getting as little as P300 000, which could not be used to construct a sewer line.

On other issues, the MP agreed with his electorate that time was ripe for increment of Ipelegeng allowance.

He said the cost of living had shot sky high such that the allowance for village development committees and Ipelegeng workers dissipated before meeting basic needs.

Buoyed by complaints from village development committee members through theumbrella chairperson, Ms Sylvia Phethu, MP Lucas said many elected representatives across political party divide agreed that it was time to effect increment of the two allowances in order to shield people from high cost of living and inflation.

Ms Phethu also claimed that Ipelegeng had become the biggest and reliable employer in many communities.

“It is clear the allowances can no longer meet the needs of the people,” said MP Lucas.

However, the legislator warned his constituents of the ever increasing taxes and service fees in order to bolster government coffers. The MP said at a time when diamonds were not selling at the expected rate, government would continue to rely on taxes and increased service fees to generate revenue.

His statement came in the wake of his constituents complaining about service fees at the sub-land board. Constituents complained about the P3 000 fee one pays in order to sell a plot, the P500 that one paid to acquire a sketch plan and the P500 one paid to be assisted with plot coordinates.

They complained that such charges were hefty for communities majority of which depended on Ipelegeng as a source of income.

In addition to his constituents’ complaints, Mr Lucas cited that the P2 200 one pays to acquire a permit to sell mophane worm (phane) beyond the borders of Botswana was a sign that  government was on course to generate revenue for depleting coffers.

While aware that factors that led to increment in fuel and food commodities price was external influence exacerbated by the Russia/Ukraine war, MP Lucas called on his electorate to prepare to live with the reality that things might get worse.

However, the MP said the finance minister had brought to Parliament Value Added Tax (VAT) amendment act which exempted cooking oil and gas from VAT. Ends