25 Nov 2025

 80 kilometres between Gaborone and Kanye is a busy road that links many large villages such as Gabane, Mmankgodi, Thamaga, Moshupa and leads further to the Trans-Kalahari road, and thus should be speedily upgraded.

Thamaga/Kumakwane MP, Mr Palelo Motaosane echoed these sentiments in Parliament on Monday. 

He said the A10 was a busy road and had become congested and hazardous to road users, and if there were delays in implementing the project, the government should at least speed up its maintenance.

Mr Motaosane further called for a road linking the villages of Thamaga, Gakgatla, Gamodubo, Gakuto, Kopong and Bokaa as well as the Kubung-Moshaweng-Jwaneng roads, which would assist in decongesting some of the main roads and help quicken travel.

On health, Mr Motaosane said the shortage of medicinal supplies in public health facilities remained a challenge in his constituency, which the Ministry of Health should address.

Mr Motaosane was critical of how the Bonno National Housing Programme was being implemented, and called for the speeding up of the process to avail plots to Batswana through the land board process, and for low income earners to be assisted towards home ownership through the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) and Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA).

Also debating on the same day, Bobirwa legislator, Mr Taolo Lucas said the reality on the ground was that after a year of a change in government, Batswana were still looking to see practical change in their lives.

He cited the example of subsistence farmers who would now be assisted with one hectar of government subsidy through the Lemang Dijo Programme, which he said was less assistance than previously.

Unemployment levels are still high, Mr Lucas said, and there was despondency among the many discouraged job seekers- those who have tried in vain to look for employment; and the underemployed, who might be working but earned low wages.

He said government employees faced stagnation with little progress in the workplace as well as private sector workers, including construction workers, and employees in retail outlets, wholesalers and filling stations struggle with poor remuneration.

The informal sector was another cadre of society which is struggling to eke out a living, and in the current circumstances, they require only a minimal grant to stimulate their activity, Mr Lucas said.

He also said that the media and the creative sector needed support to meaningfully make their contribution to society, and called on government to address creatives’ concerns about the administration of the National Arts Council.

“While the elderly could be pleased with the increase of the old age pension from P830 to P1,400 the government should be aware that there are other groups such as the disabled and the landless who still need assistance,” Mr Lucas said. ENDS