21 Jan 2014

North East District Council (NEDC) chairperson, Mr City Kealotswe has called on Village Development Committees (VDCs) to utilise Ipelegeng for maintaining and servicing government institutions in their villages.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Tati Siding on January 20,  Mr Kealotswe who is also councillor for Mapoka said while government had suspended all projects due to recession, the VDCs could make proposals to maintain and service critical institutions through Ipelegeng.

He explained that in the whole district, only the construction of Bugalo Primary School and the upgrading of the clinic were not affected by the economic downturn.

Councillor Kealotswe said a block of eight offices was under construction at the Tati Siding community service centre and upon its completion, the officers that were using port cabins would relocate to the offices. He further said the centre also accommodated Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC).

Furthermore, he said in the near future, Bugalo would admit special education learners from all over the district. Still on education issues, Cllr Kealotswe encouraged VDCs to start day care centres in order to improve the education foundation in their villages. He said the council provided a grant of P20 000 annually to day care centres owned by VDCs to assist in the daily running of the centres.

Earlier on, the VDC chairperson, Mr Tsietso Ikaneng decried shortage of accommodation for public officers. Mr Ikaneng called on the department of roads to consider providing bus stops at the two junctions that connect the village to the A1 Road.

Kgosi Simon Nkgageng appealed to the residents to assist in locating the three missing people of Tati Siding. The chairperson of the development trust, Mr Themba Mguni decried that the trust could not implement their plans of building factory shells because of lack of land.

Mr Mguni also expressed concern over the taking over of farming fields by the land board for re-allocation as residential plots. Tashata Junior Secondary School head, Ms Titose Keagile lamented the lack of attendance of Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings by parents.

She explained that the school last year recorded five pregnancy drop outs and when called to the meetings to map the way forward, the parents did not attend.

Mr Parkie Pius requested for a road connecting Tati Siding and Gerald Estate and also complained of over-speeding by local public transport operators.  ENDS