27 Nov 2022

 The state should strategically invest in the mining industry to boost the mineral resource value chain that can improve national revenue and create jobs, Kanye North Member of Parliament, Mr Thapelo Letsholo has said.

Debating the State-of-the-Nation-Address, Thursday, Mr Letsholo said government should establish a state-owned enterprise that could be actively involved in mining and beneficiation both domestically and internationally.

Mr Letsholo also called for government to invest in shares in some private mining companies operating in the country, in a similar model to the Debswana partnership between government and De Beers.

But, he said state-owned enterprises needed to hire qualified professionals and board members who should be left to operate independently in order to be efficient, with less interference from the majority shareholder, central government.

He also called for the establishment of a mineral resources fund to strategically invest in mining and utilise the skills Batswana had acquired in the mining sector since independence.

Mr Letsholo lauded government for the introduction of the National Planning Commission, which he said was a good initiative that could aid in the country's development process.

Furthermore, the MP said he was pleased that government was working on improving water provision in Kanye and the Southern District through the National Water Masterplan, the North-South Water carrier.

However, he said Kanye and neighbouring villages such as Ranaka, Ntlhantlhe, Kgomokasitwa, Lekgolobotlo were currently suffering from water shortage and said residents would only be satisfied when government projects delivered regular portable water they could access.

Mr Letsholo also said the road linking Magotlhwane, Kgomokasitwa and Tshweneyagae was in a bad state and needed to be tarred.

He said since there had been talks of introducing toll gates in order to finance the maintenance of roads, such a road could act as an alternative route for road users who might not afford toll fees on a major road such as the Gaborone-Lobatse A1 road.

Mr Letsholo also said there was an unnecessary delay in the construction of the primary school at Losabanyana, which he said had long been planned.

He added that shortage of medication in the government system was just the tip of the iceberg as there were 25 doctors and about 120 nurses in the whole Kanye District Health Management Team (DHMT) area, a ratio of one doctor per 2 000 people and about one nurse per 500 people, which he said was below the World Health Organisation) threshold.

He said there were only seven ambulances in the area, whereas the bare minimum necessary to serve the population in the area should be at least 14 ambulances, and he called for them to be assisted with paramedics. ENDS