12 Jan 2014

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tonota South, Mr Pono Moatlhodi has urged residents of Mandunyane to take advantage of the good rains the country is experiencing to produce food for their families and the country.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in the village on January 10, Mr Moatlhodi said government had come up with different initiatives to assist Batswana to engage in serious farming, hence the need for farmers to take up the challenge and reduce the government food import bill.

The MP, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, said with the current financial crisis, which has led to many development projects be deferred, government could not afford to spend a lot of money on importation of goods which the locals could produce.

“With the good rains, let us do our part and help the government to produce food, which will feed the nation,” he said.

Furthermore, Mr Moatlhodi appealed to the farmers to relocate to the fields instead of ploughing and abandoning the fields to reside in the village. He said such tendencies were some of the factors that led to poor yields despite the good rains experienced.

MP Moatlhodi called on farmers to use the ISPAAD programme to avoid conflicts emanating from the destruction of crops by livestock. Meanwhile, the Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Mr Folly Doctor decried rental arrears owed to their committee, adding that some of the tenants have relocated. 

He described that as a setback to the committee noting that often public servants complain about lack of proper accommodation in the village, but upon being allocated a house they opt not to pay rent. Mr Doctor said such money could be used to construct more houses and upgrade the current houses to the required standards.

In addition, he complained about parents who do not pay school fees for their children at the day care centre, a move which has resulted in the centre failing to pay for utilities and teachers’ salaries. Responding to the concerns raised, MP Moatlhodi said VDCs should not allow any tenant to miss payment of their monthly rentals and advised them to improve on their collection strategies. 

He further noted that school fees should also not be owed, particularly in the sense that the committee has made it flexible for easy payments of the P800 fee until the end of the term.

“If you can pay up your nanny who cares for the child at home, why then should you not be able to pay the school fees, which are part of your child’s future,” he said.   The Tonota South legislator also informed the residents about the completion of Shashe Mooke bridge, the eight kilometres linking road and the deferred road connecting Mandunyane and Shashemooke to Mathangwane village due to budgetary constraints. ENDS