Africa-Press – Botswana. The Okavango District Council has approved the National Development Plan (NDP) 12 and the District Development Plan (DDP) 9 proposals.
The proposals were presented before the council by the Okavango District Officer Development, Mr Oratile Dintwe, during a special full council meeting on Tuesday.
Mr Dintwe said the proposals were gathered following consultations with communities in the Okavango District.
He said some of the key issues were poor infrastructure development such as poor quality roads, which rendered some villages inaccessible.
As a result, he said, this negatively affected the economy of the district and discouraged investments.
He spoke of the need for water reticulation and expansion of the Sepopa water treatment plant and the water pipelines as well as the prioritization of the sewage to serve the district better.
Mr Dintwe said the district had high levels of poverty and youth unemployment. It therefore needed social upliftment and citizen empowerment projects.
The other proposed projects were a mini Rural Administration Centre in Shakawe, expansion of the Mohembo Border Post, construction of Dobe border post, upgrading of the Rural Administration Centre in Gumare, construction of the Prison facilities in Sepopa, upgrading of the Gumare Police Station, construction of the Gumare fire station and others.
Councillor for Kauxi/Xakao, Mr Television France, said he appreciated the inclusion of the Mohembo-Gudigwa road and the Khwai-Gudigwa road.
Mr France said the latter was a shorter route between villages on the eastern side of Mohembo and Maun and was also an advantage for tourism improvement in the district.
Councillor for Seronga/Gunotsoga, Mr Boipuso Mangurunga, also said he appreciated the proposed Gudigwa-Khwai road.
Mr Mangurunga suggested that cordon fences be prioritized to curb the human-wildlife conflict. Nominated councillor, Mr Molatlhegi Moyei, said he appreciated the water reticulation proposal and the Gudigwa/Khwai road. He said power lines should be extended to newly allocated plots.
Councillor for Qangwa/Xaixai, Mr Lelejwang Sokwe, said the proposals should incorporate upgrading of airstrips to improve movement of travellers because the district was a tourism area.
Mr Sokwe also proposed that land servicing should be improved to have access roads to newly allocated plots.
He called for an agricultural marketing centre in Okavango, which would be a motivation to farmers hence improve agricultural business. For his part, the Acting Deputy Council Secretary, Mr Losika Kula, said the councillors’ input would be considered before the submission of the proposals to the ministry.
However, he said some of the proposals were issues that could be addressed by other programmes in place such as Ipelegeng and the Road Levy for those related to roads.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
