09 Mar 2014

Southern District councillors are optimistic that the Kanye Draft Development Plan will provide a clear strategic direction for developments over a period of 24 years and beyond.

Commenting on the draft presentation during the on-going SDC meeting, councillor for Molapowabojang East, Mr Nelson Letshabo gave the plan a nod but said it could only have an impact if all the relevant stakeholders were to pull together in one direction. Since land board allocated land, Mr Letshabo opined it should be the key player in the plan.

When presenting the plan, Mrs Mookho Kamyuka from the Department of Town and Regional Planning (DTRP) assured the council that it would take care of competing demands for space within the planning area. She said the plan would adopt government policy of small and micro businesses operating in residential plots thus enhancing employment opportunities for the residents.

The physical planner highlighted that areas with good soils would be reserved for agricultural activities which was not well taken care of in the past.

She said the current plan did not benefit the area economically because of challenges such as the ever so rising unemployment rates which the draft plan would seek to address through tourism opportunities that would come with the Trans Kalahari Highway (TKH) among others.

Ms Kamyuka encouraged Kanye residents to take advantage of the acute shortage of accommodation especially for public officers and invest in property.

Meanwhile Ms Kamyuka has said the deserted manganese mine in Kanye posed a threat for residents of Kanye and the environment. She said further investigations would be done in order to determine the extent of the hazard.

Mr Mmoloki Poloko, senior physical planner at Kanye Administration Authority (KAA) argued that it was important to devise an employment plan to support the informal sector. He said Bathoen II Bird Sanctuary, which he described as a tourist attraction, could create employment for the residents if developed. Ends