17 Jun 2025

Councillors in Boteti District have expressed dissatisfaction over the turnaround time by relevant authorities for approval or feedback on adopted motions. 

Speaking on the sidelines at the opening of the Boteti District  full council session on Monday, many were of the view that the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs took long to implement or give feedback on motions adopted at council level. 

All these motions, councillors said were crafted and adopted with the aim to improve the livelihoods of Batswana, hence the need for prompt attention. 

Councillor for Xhumo, Mr Basiami Sentsho cited some motions he tabled and were adopted by council, which he felt could have been implemented, given the significance. 

One of the motions was that Mmadikola Health Post be converted into a clinic, given the statistics from the last population census, which showed that the village had over 1 000 people, which was a pre-requisite for clinic establishment in an area. 

Another motion, he said was that a clause be added to the policy governing scrap metal business, that people should, before selling copper, produce an affidavit from the police showing proof of ownership and weight. 

He said the motion aimed to minimise or curb the escalating crime trends associated with stealing of copper in the country. 

On a different matter, Mr Sentsho talked about compromised service delivery because Boteti District Council operated with a deficit of P93 million, while it was only allocated P180 million. 

This, he said negatively impacted suppliers as they experienced delayed payments. Another issue, he said the relocation of primary healthcare services to local government was an added responsibility to councils, and called for more resources. ENDS