20 Dec 2022

Programmes and projects earmarked for implementation in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development during the Transitional National Development Plan period will require close to P8billion.

In his presentation on Monday, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Kgotla Autlwetse said his ministry would prioritise four programmes of social welfare, local government infrastructure and services, tribal administration infrastructure and development of primary education services.

He said the social welfare programme seek to provide social protection services through social safety net and the major cost driver under the programme was the Ipelegeng programme with a proposed budget of over P1.2billion.

He said government continued to provide social protection services such as Old Age Pension allowances, Destitute Cash Allowances, World War II Veterans (WWII allowances) and Disability cash transfers to eligible Batswana.

He noted that there had been a gradual increase in the number of registered destitute persons mainly due to persistent droughts and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Autlwetse said another issue worth noting was the review of the Affirmative Action Framework (AAF) and impact assessment for the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP) which was successfully carried out during NDP 11.

He said the objective of the review was to determine the extent to which the Affirmative Action Framework has been implemented and to provide recommendations for the re-orientation of the RADP.

He said a revamped Ipelegeng Programme with skills development component was underway and aimed at achieving productivity and empowering beneficiaries with skills to enable them to participate meaningfully and compete in the labour market.

He said a pilot for the skills component was undertaken in the South East District and the implementation of the new component was being rolled out to other Districts.

He said the Local Government Infrastructure Development and Services seek to develop and maintain internal roads in villages and towns, storm water drainage facilities as well as waste management facilities.

He said the Constituency Community Projects (CCP) would focus on maintenance of internal roads during the transitional period at a cost of over P1.1billion.

Contributing to the proposals, Francistown West MP Mr Ignatius Moswaane said government had made attempts to develop Batswana but such efforts were reversed by some notable challenges.

On social welfare, he said the quality of food hampers was not up to standard because of high food prices. Mr  Moswaane said the Self Help Housing Agency programme had a serious problem of backlog due to insufficient budget allocated to the programme.

He said the turnkey project that was initially set to assist home ownership was dysfunctional.

Concerning the constituency development fund, Mr Moswaane said the ministry had not consulted legislators on how the funds would be prioritised.

He said collection of building material loans was not done properly as it was a revolving fund which had to assist others.

For his part, Nata Gweta MP Mr Polson Majaga pleaded with government to empower the local government with enough funds as they had serious challenges and wide mandate.

He pledged support to the ministry and encouraged it to work in a phased manner to implement programmes efficiently.

He decried lack of developments in Sowa Town which he said delayed the growth of the township with a population of about 3 000 people.

He suggested that tribal authority should fall under state presidency while district commissioners should be under local government.

Gaborone Central MP Mr Tumisang Mangwegape-Healy said his constituency was the only one which did not have a Kgotla as it was served in Gaborone North and South.

He said destitute housing should be expedited as many people were living in squalor conditions.

He also pleaded for the upgrading of internal roads such as Chuma drive which were major arteries in the city’s road network. He said lack of proper housing for public workers such as teachers was affecting the teaching and learning profession as some commuted as far as Kanye and Molepolole. He, therefore, said BHC must give priority to public workers to cushion the shortage.

He called for inspection of infrastructure for Gaborone schools which were mostly dilapidated and required immediate maintenance.

Mr Mangwegape-Healy said the CCP was not benefitting local communities and only engaged people from outside Gaborone constituencies.

He expressed hope that the newly launched Ipelegeng programme would benefit communities and equip them with the necessary skills. ENDS