11 Mar 2014

The MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi has said government should ensure that electricity outages in the country are addressed.

Debating the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMWER) budget proposal in Parliament on March 10, Mr Mmolotsi said government must ensure that power was available all the time.

He said the P5 000 standard connection fee for electricity was not benefitting everyone, adding that the ministry should also introduce prepaid water system just like with electricity. The MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Gilson Saleshando said the country’s economy needed a fundamental transformation.

He said this could be achieved by making use of the country’s minerals through beneficiation, noting that Selebi Phikwe had been producing copper and nickel without any beneficiation for the past 30 years. Mr Saleshando said beneficiation could help create employment for many Batswana.

The MP for Ngwaketse West, Mr Mephato Reatile said shortage of water and electricity in the country was worrisome. He wondered if there were no cost overruns for the Morupule B project, noting that the multi billion Pula project was a failure.

Mr Reatile said the ministry was not helping in terms of employment creation, adding that because of the Morupule B failures, the minister and his permanent secretary must resign. Tati East legislator, Mr Samson Guma said there was need to identify the problem at Morupule B and address it.

He noted that project implementation was a major problem in the country, adding that they had to take responsibility for all the wrongs within the power industry. The MP for Tati West, Mr Charles Tibone stated that the ministry had done well in his constituency.

He however said there was water shortage in his area and called for the building of more dams in the constituency in areas such as Mosetse. Ngami legislator, Mr Taolo Habano said electricity was a major problem in the country with all the power outages.

He urged the ministry to connect some villages in the constituency to the national electricity grid and called for the construction of dams in areas such as Qangwa and Xaxa.

Kgalagadi North MP, Mr Phillip Khwai said research about minerals in the country should be done in a way that would benefit the country. He also called for harvesting of water at various households.

Boteti South MP, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) was failing the nation. He appreciated the idea of prepaid stand pipes but the unavailability of smart cards for the metres was spoiling everything.

Lobatse MP, Mr Nehemiah Modubule said he was not happy with the ministry in his constituency, calling upon the minister to inform the nation about what went wrong with the Morupule B project.

He said the minister inherited the problems and called for the resignation of those responsible. The legislator for Ngwaketse South, Mr Peter Siele said shortage of water in his constituency was very worrisome and said in some areas, the water was very salty. ENDS