Africa-Press – Botswana. Government has allocated an additional P5m to the P20m constituency community projects (CCP) funds, to construct and maintain internal roads and associated works such as storm water drainage in Mahalapye West and East constituencies.
This follows government’s decision through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, to refocus CCP to concentrate on developing internal roads, to facilitate ease of doing business and making villages alternative investment areas.
“We want to use these funds to maintain roads and also construct new ones because most of the roads in Mahalapye area and other villages are not in a good state,” said President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi during a kgotla meeting he addressed in Mahalapye yesterday.
Dr Masisi said the plan was to build proper roads with clear markings and road signs as well as good drainage, to control the flow of water during the rainy season.
“We do not want poorly constructed roads that would break down your vehicles,” he said.
Dr Masisi who is also the Vision 2036 champion said the move to maintain internal roads would also provide stimulus to support local businesses by procuring from them and also awarding tenders to undertake such projects.
He said this would in-turn stimulate creation of employment for Batswana particularly the youth, adding that time had come for Batswana to undertake projects by themselves instead of relying on foreign companies to do the job for them.
He urged local citizen owned companies to position themselves to benefit from the CCP funds, as materials required such as paving bricks and sand would be sourced from local companies.
In addition, President Masisi informed residents of Mahalapye that he gave the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Ministry of Transport and Public Works, a directive to register individuals and local companies with road construction machinery such as bowsers, trucks, brick moulding machines and other equipment.
He said he had informed the two ministries to also develop specifications for bricks that would be required to undertake local projects so that quality was not compromised.
Furthermore, Dr Masisi said government would increase CCP funds from P570m to P610m in the next financial year, a change informed by the increase in number of constituencies.
“We cannot achieve Vision 2036 if our roads are in a dilapidated state,” he said.
Skills development, he said was also a key component to deliver quality projects hence government’s decision to engage Construction Industry Training Fund (CITF) to train local artisans in construction trades such as bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, painting and paving.
Touching on the horticulture sector, Dr Masisi urged farmers to increase vegetable production to enable the country to export the surplus.
He said Batswana had for many years been importing vegetables from other countries and therefore, should shift gears to feed other nations.
Government, he said had taken a decision to establish a facility, where produce could be sent for packaging.
He said government would purchase processing and packaging machines to enable the country to develop other value chains from vegetables such as frozen vegetables, to minimise importation.
This, he said would in-turn help create employment for Batswana and also generate income for local farmers.Regarding the diamond industry, he said the country had a total of 21 diamond cutting and polishing factories in 2019, and the number increased to 48 factories resulting in increased employment creation from 2 207 to 4 239 employees.
In addition, he said government intended to increase investment in diamonds, noting the historic diamond deal, which included a P1bn contribution by De Beers towards the establishment of the Diamond Development Fund.
He said part of the deal was also to develop the industrial base of the country to develop other value chains.
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