06 Nov 2023

Residents of Dihetlhamolelo and Kgale View wards in Gaborone Bonnington South have blamed both the Gaborone City Council and their councillor for the crime, non-functioning streetlights, and poor storm water drainage in their area.

They expressed their displeasure during a kgotla meeting addressed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gaborone Bonnington South, Mr Christian Greef recently.

One resident, Mr James Kgosiemang of Malekantwa Neighbourhood Watch said passages were a contributory cause of crime. He said they were turned into dumping sites and were inaccessible due to overgrown vegetation.

 He said consultation with the area councillor had been futile as he was uncooperative. Mr Kgosiemang stated that passages adjacent to Regent Primary School were a hideout for criminals, who also stash their loot there.

 The resident said they had apprehended a number of thieves that broke into houses during the day and handed them to the police.

Mr Kgosiemang also said the council was slow to cover bare electrical wires that posed danger to lives, and led to power outages in the area.

Furthermore, he said there were culverts that were blocked, leading to an overflow of storm water that flooded people’s homes.

 “The council must plan with the people and not plan for the people,” he said.

Another resident, Mr Kgosi Molebo of Garemmogo Neighbourhood Watch said along with his neighbours, they experienced flooding inside their homes during rainy seasons.

He said at one point, they took the initiative as residents to unblock storm water trenches, as the council had neglected its responsibility.

Mr Molebo appealed for installation of tower lights to light up a larger area as the current street lighting was not functional. 

He said the tower lights would light up beyond the streets into the river bank, where criminals take cover under the dark of the night.

The MP, Mr Greef said Gaborone Bonnington South had not been catered for in the National Development Plan 11, but was now included in the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP).

He disclosed that P40 million had been budgeted to improve storm water drainage in the constituency, and the project was at design stage.

Mr Greef said construction of the project was to commence in April next year, during the 2024-2025 financial year.

He said the area constituency fund also had P10 million from which street lights and internal roads were to be maintained and each ward was to receive P1.6 million.

MP Greef also said council engineers needed to acquaint themselves with the state of the city to address issues on time.

He said if the council was proactive, officials would know the bad state of the city’s amenities and address them before they got out of hand. Ends