10 Mar 2014

Gaborone City Council has been requested to return property confiscated from vendors and allow them to operate freely in order to sustain their lives.

Debating the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development budget proposals for 2014/15, Members of Parliament said it was wrong for council bye-law officials to confiscate property belonging to the informal traders.

MP for Gaborone South, Mr Kagiso Molatlhegi said bye-law officials trampled upon the rights of the traders by confiscating the goods without any court order.

By selling their goods, they were making a living, hence reducing dependency on government, he said. MP for Gaborone North, Mr Keletso Rakhudu also said the council should not have confiscated the property, saying people were there to earn incomes for their families.

Meanwhile, the MPs shared sentiments as they were equally worried by lack of storm water drainage facilities in their constituencies, particularly in low income areas such as SHHA.

They said their areas did not have streetlights and MP Molatlhegi said this has seen crime escalate in his constituency, while MP Rakhudu said he thought their maintenance was provided for in the recurrent budget. The two Gaborone legislators were also concerned about the poor state of internal roads.

For his part, MP for South East South, Mr Odirile Motlhale said mayors should be given executive powers, which would enable them to recruit personnel, saying at the moment it is difficult for them to be able to deliver due to constant transfers of council officials.

He further said councils should be made independent to enable them to source their own revenues and not depend on central government for funding.

Like the Gaborone legislators, Mr Motlhale complained about lack of storm water drainage, adding that Ramotswa was prone to floods as a major road has blocked natural flow of water.

Commenting, the MP for Mogoditshane, Mr Patrick Masimolole complained about late payments for people working in Ipelegeng and called upon the minister to closely monitor council employees, saying they were inefficient.

He also complained about the poor state of internal roads and further said Mogoditshane does not have a taxi rank.

MP Masimolole said the name of the sub district should be changed from Mogoditshane-Thamaga to just Mogoditshane Sub-district.

For his part, MP for Chobe, Mr Gibson Nshimwe complained about the poor state of internal roads and lack of streetlights in Kazungula although it is a link between Botswana and its neighbours. He said the Chobe Sub-district does not have an abattoir policy, hence the facility has not been built meaning people slaughter their livestock anywhere they see fit.

MP Nshimwe said it was difficult for nursing mothers to access Ipelegeng as their allowances are low to employ maids, but they are not allowed to bring their infants to work.

He welcomed the decision to undertake developments at primary schools, saying schools do not have kitchens and dining halls while others have pots that are not functional.

MP Nshimwe called for the construction of a primary school in Khwae, saying students there travel long distances, making it difficult to learn. He called for the inclusion of food among the packages given to destitute persons at the time of their funeral.

Contributing to the debate, MP for Molepolole South, Mr Daniel Kwelagobe welcomed the backlog eradication programme, saying a number of students are taught under trees, hence their studying is disturbed by weather conditions.

He also said Ipelegeng should be used to undertake sustainable development projects, saying no such project has been undertaken in his constituency as they are faced with shortage of classrooms and teachers’ accommodation. ENDS