10 Sep 2023

Gaborone City Council has been impounding stray animals since September 1.

Gaborone mayor, Mr Austin Abraham said this during a consultative meeting with the Greater Gaborone dikgosi recently, adding that it was important that guests coming from outside the city and residents’ lives were not threatened by roaming animals.

He said apart from sharing geographic boundaries, they had common interests, which bordered on social, demographic and economic interdependence.

Mr Abraham said one of the issues that had always compelled them to meet was the management of livestock.

He said while the city was fortunate to be surrounded by villages which provided sustenance for the city in terms of food security, it also had a responsibility of keeping the city safe and secure for investment attraction.

He also said the city council was required by the Pound Act and other statutes to keep the city free of livestock.

To this end, he said there had been strategies employed to achieve that.

He said in 2019, the council decided to drive the livestock out of the city instead of impounding them as required by the law, but the evaluation of the strategy revealed that it did not yield the intended results.

As such, he said the council had been compelled to go back to the drawing board and consider impounding livestock and kraalling them.

The mayor said the owners could claim their livestock within a period of 21 days and pleaded with dikgosi to convey the message to farmers in their tribal territories.

He asked that they implore the farmers to take care of their livestock in order to preserve the wealth of the country.

Town clerk, Mr Lopang Pule, said they wanted to sensitise the public on the development as for a while, they had not impounded livestock in the city.

He said the Greater Gaborone area was inclusive of Ramotswa, Tlokweng and Kgatleng administrative areas.

He said they were trying to transform the city as it was dubbed the Diamond City, devoid of stray animals, and safe for motorists and pedestrians, which he said  was evidenced by the integrated transport management system and the street lighting for people to be secure.

For his part, Kgosi Kgari Sechele III of Bakwena said it was proper to consult so that they may abide by the rules.

Kgosi said the former Kweneng District had been demarcated, thereby raising a need to consult with the new Mogoditshane District Council, which is  adjacent to Gaborone. Ends