19 Jan 2026

A resident of Tonota, Mr Motlhapisa Seganabeng has called for government to prioritise projects that addresses the community’s most pressing needs, particularly the health sector.
Thus, he said the construction of the Tonota Primary Hospital was long overdue and should have been prioritised.
He said this during a kgotla meeting addressed by Tonota Member of Parliament, Mr Gaefele Sedombo in Tonota on Thursday.
Mr Seganabeng also spoke of the need for street illumination in some parts of Tonota, citing the dark stretch from the bus rank to Shashe River School as a safety concern.
He urged government to consider the community’s wants and needs when scaling up or down projects.
Other residents echoed Mr Seganabeng’s concerns, complaining about the continuous shortage of drugs at the local clinic and poor state of internal roads in Tonota.
Earlier on, MP Sedombo informed the residents that the Tonota-Mmadinare gravel road and the construction of a primary hospital were included in the National Development Plan (NDP) 12.
In addition, he announced plans to build a revenue office in Tonota and a primary school in Tonota west in the 2027/2028 financial year.
Mr Sedombo revealed that government prioritised agriculture, aiming to increase the cattle population from 1.7 million to five million in the next few years.
Furthermore, he said government would maintain Foot and Mouth Disease cordon fence from Serule to Zanzibar to prevent the spread of the cattle disease in the event of an outbreak.
The MP also briefed the residents on the constitutional review to introduce constitutional court, which would serve as the ultimate interpreter and guardian of the nation’s constitution thus ensuring all laws, government actions and state institutions operated within its framework, therefore protecting citizens’ rights and upholding the rule of law.
Moreover, he said government would conduct national consultative meetings with key stakeholders on the establishment of the constitutional court and appealed to the residents to have an input.
He said after consultations, there would be a referendum on the constitutional review to establish a constitutional court because the constitutional review belonged to Batswana not individuals. ENDS