21 Mar 2024

Specially elected councillor, Mr Gilbert Boikhutso has called for the relocation of the truck weigh bridge near the Phillip Matante International Airport.

Commenting on the mayor’s speech during the ongoing Francistown Full Council meeting recently, Councillor Boikhutso raised safety concerns, saying the weigh bridge had become a ‘death trap’ due to the increased number of accidents in the area.

He noted that accidents were common during holiday periods.

Councillor Boikhutso further expressed concern about the delay in upgrading the road that connects Francistown to Kgapamadi and Gerald Estate from gravel to bitumen standard.

He said the upgrade was long overdue and was necessary to improve access and safety for the residents.

The councillor noted that the road was currently in a poor condition, and had been the site for vehicle breakdowns and accidents.

He also expressed concern about the delay in the allocation of residential plots in Gerald Estate, saying that the last allocation was in 1992/1993.

Councillor Boikhutso complained that   the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) had been slow to address water wastage in Gerald Estate.

 He thanked government for the construction of a new primary school in the area, which would benefit the local community.

Another specially elected councillor, Mr Lucas Modiri commended and congratulated Miss World Africa Lesego Chombo for representing Botswana admirably at the just-ended Miss World competition.

“I extend my appreciation for the support shown by Batswana and express gratitude to her parents for nurturing such a remarkable talent,” he said.

Councillor Modiri also thanked Batswana who registered for the general election and urged those who still had not registered to take advantage of any possible future supplementary registration exercise.

He also expressed his appreciation to the Ipelegeng workers for keeping the city clean.

“I urge this council to enhance their working conditions by providing the necessary tools to ease their job. Considering that the majority of these workers are youth, we must explore avenues to support them, such as creating jobs and providing a conducive environment for small businesses,” said the councillor.

These, he said,  include auditing unutilised open spaces in town and allocating them. Councillor Modiri said the City of Francistown had a responsibility to ensure that residents lived healthy lives with dignity by addressing critical issues such as cleaning culverts, especially in areas like Gerald 23, where residents struggle to access their homes during rainy seasons.

On other issues, he said there was need for a fire station in Gerald given the traffic challenges and potential fire emergencies.

Francistown Central councillor, Ms Lilian Griesmeir appealed to residents of Francistown to support and utilise the Block 1 Youth Multi Purposes project because it had proved to have  good and quick returns.

 The councillor was worried that the residents, especially the youth, were reluctant to utilise programmes and policies offered by the project such as training in various business disciplines.

Ms Griesmeir also registered a concern about the increasing cases of kidney disease in Francistown and appealed to councillors to encourage their electorates to screen for the disease.

She appealed to the Department of Social and Community Development to support people suffering with the kidney disease by offering them accommodation whilst still awaiting treatment far away from their homes.

For his part, Councillor Gaone Majere of Tshwaragano ward complained about the lack of maintenance of internal roads and the failure by WUC to repair roads damaged after maintenance works. ENDS