Africa-Press – Botswana. Moshupa District Council has been urged to consider outsourcing transport services for the transportation of primary school learners enrolled in special education units.
A Manyana resident, Ms Tsholofelo Mothei made the suggestion during a kgotla meeting addressed by Moshupa/Manyana Member of Parliament, Mr Karabo Gare on Wednesday
She said the current situation where learners could go months without attending school due to transportation challenges on the part of council was disturbing and needed to be addressed speedily.
Another resident Mr Obusitswe Moruakgomo said government should consider amending the law to allow for constituencies and council wards to have caretakers in the event that their elected representatives get appointed to cabinet and council chairmanship.
He said constituencies and wards whose MPs and councillors got tasked with cabinet and council leadership positions often did not enjoy the full services of their representatives.
Mr Moruakgomo said the law should therefore provide for the appointment of caretaker MPs and councillors to guarantee all constituencies and wards equal representation, saying the current arrangement where cabinet ministers and council chairpersons juggled responsibilities of their two portfolios often resulted in some imbalance in the way in which they handled their responsibilities.
“Being an MP and holding a cabinet post is equal to serving two masters, and this is where caretakers would step in and focus on the constituencies while the ministers give their undivided attention to cabinet responsibilities,” he said, noting that in that case constituencies would not feel neglected.
While he could not elaborate on the modalities surrounding the appointment of the caretaker MPs and councillors, the resident later said in an interview that the move would also help enhance the effectiveness of ministers.
Residents also complained that some public facilities in the village were in a sad state of disrepair that rendered them unsafe for those using them.
Village Development Committee chairperson Mr Onkemetse Kalanke said Manyana Primary School was the worst, and added that the facility had been in need of major maintenance for years now.
Mr Kalanke further regretted the shortage of housing for public officers in Manyana, labelling it a worrisome trend that affected service delivery.
Sharing similar sentiments, one Mr Elias Segwagwe said it was sad that some nurses stationed in Manyana stayed as far as Moshupa due to the lack of adequate housing.
Mr Segwagwe also criticised public officers at district headquarters in Moshupa for not periodically visiting villages to render services and address issues in line with their responsibilities.
Responding issues raised acting deputy council secretary Mr Douglas Tsimanyana said outsourcing transportation services for children in the special education unit would not be possible due to budgetary constraints.
Regarding the dilapidation of schools, he said there was provision to do major maintenance in one primary school per financial year in the district and that
Manyana Primary School was not among the three schools that would be maintained in the next three financial years.
However, he said council would reassess the situation and see how best to address it pending the major maintenance that was needed.
The area MP Mr Gare informed residents that the Manyana-Moshupa road would be constructed, saying the preliminary works which precede the actual construction were currently underway.
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