09 Mar 2014

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Peter Siele has asked Parliament to approve his ministry’s 2014/15 budget proposals amounting to P6 175 582 630.

Presenting the proposed budget on March 6, Mr Siele said the amount included P4 904 376 440 and P1 271 206 190 as recurrent and development budget respectively.

About recurrent budget, he said the largest share of P3 506 620 300 was allocated to the Department of Local Government, Finance and Procurement. It included funds for Revenue Support Grant to cater for councillors’ terminal benefits, maintenance of facilities at local authorities, food supplies and provision of allowances for headmen of arbitration and also P410 209 290 for supplementary feeding programme.

The minister said the second largest share of P825 million was for the Department of Social Protection to cover Orphan Care Programme (P368 million), Old Age Pension (P304 million), Home Based care (P45 million) and Destitute Cash Allowance at (P36 720 000).

Minister Siele said tribal administration accounted for the third largest share of P304 million of which P60 million was for payment of allowances to headmen of arbitration. The remaining P268 million would be shared by seven departments including the newly established Department of Rural Development which has been allocated P4.4 million.

Of the P1 271 206 190 earmarked for development projects, 45.7 per cent of the amount or P580 590 000 has been allocated to Ipelegeng.
Minister Siele said P220 million has been allocated to finance primary school projects, which include construction of teachers’ quarters, classrooms, toilet blocks, procurement of furniture and equipment.

He further requested approval of another P220 million for Village Infrastructure Programme which include construction of Bobonong and Letlhakane internal roads as well as construction of Molepolole Bus rank projects.

Village Water Supply and Sewerage Programme requires P131 716 190 to undertake Boteti Northern Cluster Rural Village Water Supply Scheme, Seronga-Gunotsoga-Beetsha-Gudigwa Rural Village Water Supply Scheme, rehabilitation of Shakawe Treatment Plant and construction of desalination plants at Radisele and New Xade.

The minister said the funds would also cover ground water investigations, drilling and equipping of boreholes in North West, Central, Kweneng, Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Districts. He however said the process of transferring these projects to the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources has started.

Mr Siele said Municipal Services Programme requests P75 million to construct Palapye bus rank and procurement of 10 fire engines out of which four would go to Gaborone City Council while Ghanzi, Southern and Kgalagadi Councils would each receive two.

An amount of P42.3 million has been proposed for the Department of Social Welfare and Development to construct 400 houses for destitute persons country-wide, including the Remote Area Development Settlements (RADs).

The minister said the remaining P1.6 million would be shared by the Remote Area Development Programme, Consultancies and Customary Courts Programmes to finance different activities. Ends