28 Nov 2013

Parliament has been told that there are two service centres at Ncojane and New Xade in Ghanzi District.

Answering a question from the MP for Kgalagadi North , Mr Phillip Khwae, the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso, explained that Ncojane receives SHHA, Licencing, bye law and public health services for a week every month.

She said central government departments which provide services in Ncojane include Livestock Advisory Centre, Veterinary, Wildlife, Botswana Police Service and Tribal Administration.

She stated that New Xade Service centre has a mini Rural Administration Centre offering commercial, environmental health and social and community development services, as well as wildlife, youth, tribal administration, crops and veterinary services.

Ms Tshireletso said Kgalagadi district has two service centres, one in Kang and the other in Middlepits. She explained that Kang is operational offering all council services and having the following government and parastatals; agriculture, health and Botswana College of Distance and Open learning.

Others are out of school education and training, roads, Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, agriculture research, forestry, department of building and engineering services, wildlife, department of transport and road safety, Central Transport Organization, secondary and tertiary education. Middlepits only has community development, architecture and buildings, treasury, Botswana police, tribal administration and immigration.

The Minister said the vacancy rate for Kgalagadi and Ghanzi districts councils is 7.3 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively. She explained that the ministry is continuously recruiting for the vacant positions and the recruitment process is at different levels. For D1 position, two are at interview stage, and the other two are yet to be advertised.

For D2 positions and below, 11 are at short listing stage, six have been advertised, four are to be considered by the appointment board, seven are to be filled through the DPSM graduate database, 42 are to be advertised while 28 are to be rationalised.

Ms Tshireletso said the positions of Principal Electrical Engineer II, Principal Quantity Surveyor II, Principal Architect II and Principal Mechanical Engineer II have remained vacant for more than two years because they have not been able to attract suitable candidates adding that these are also scarce skill occupations which have proved difficult to fill.

Whilst the position of Chief Education Secretary and Supplies Manager are not scarce skill occupations, they also have not been able to attract suitable candidates. MP Khwae had asked about the progress made in the establishment of service centres in the two districts and the vacancy rate. The legislator had also wanted to know what measures are in place to address the vacancy situation in the two districts. ENDS