Africa-Press – Botswana. Smart management of government buildings and space can go a long way in creating employment, public works minister Mr Eric Molale said Wednesday.
He was speaking at the 7th Annual World Facility Management Day commemoration themed: “Making A Real Difference.”
“If all the facilities that we have, as government, were to be managed and maintained within these 12 months, and we partner with you facilitate managers, I can assure you that we would have an employment growth of more than 15 000 to 20 000 additional employees” he said.
To that end he called on facilities managers to be astute and work towards transforming existing infrastructure into healthy and smart facilities.
The minister called on private facilities managers to partner with the government in its development agenda by charging reasonably when providing service to it.
He expressed concern that they often charged exorbitant fees, which made it difficult for government to carry out some development projects.
Minister Molale said the commemoration day came at a time government had prioritised improving quality of life through excellence in provision of infrastructure and built environment.
The government he said, had also prioritised improving safety and security by ensuring user-friendly transport and infrastructure development.
He said there was need to develop and enforce quality standards for materials and products used in infrastructure development to ensure safety and durability.
He added there was need to re-define new methods of infrastructure development and related aspects such as financing, contracting, procurement, supervision and maintenance.
The minister encouraged facilities managers in the public sector to make use of money set aside for maintenance and upkeep of buildings during the current financial year, adding there was too much procrastination by government agencies, which often meant money was returned to the Ministry of Finance, leading to unnecessary deferment and even failure of projects.
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