Africa-Press – Botswana. Attaining economic growth remains one of the key priorities of the Tsabong District Council, with the local authority aggressively driving the implementation of some local economic development activities.
Delivering a speech at the full council session at Tsabong District Council on Friday, chairperson Mr Elias Motlhanke said the district was committed to exploring ways of strengthening the economic climate of the district.
Mr Motlhanke said the outcome of the implementation of local economic development activities, which had included horse races, the resuscitation of BORAVAST charcoal production project and the Khawa Dune Challenge was encouraging.
He said Tsabong District Council’s newly-established revenue generation team had raised P50 000 profit from its activities during its first participation at this year’s event.
He did however, challenge the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) to improve planning and stakeholder consultation for the annual Khawa Dune Challenge.
Mr Motlhanke also reported on the council’s financial status, noting that it had only received 75 per cent of the Revenue Support Grant for the second quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, amounting to P30.4 million out of the expected P40.6 million.
He explained that the funds for the Ipelegeng programme have not been disbursed, while funding school feeding has been only partially released.
Mr Motlhanke said the two programmes were funded through the recurrent account, leading to inter-account indebtedness.
Regarding service delivery, the chairman stated that the transition of primary health care from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs was ongoing, with 184 of the expected 206 staff members transferred.
Regarding the district’s drug availability, he said it stands at an overall level of 71 per cent as of July.
The council also received new vehicles, among which are a supervisory vehicle, a compactor truck, and a clinical waste vehicle to enhance waste management operations in the district, he stated.
Mr Motlhanke further announced that the council had launched an anti-defilement campaign to raise awareness on the societal ills.
He said the campaign’s impact was already being felt, with the number of cumulative defilement cases decreasing from 103 in January to 84 by the end of July.
In terms of infrastructure, he explained that the construction of the Tsabong multi-species abattoir has been completed, with testing and commissioning currently underway.
He said the Werda–Makopong-Kokotsha water supply scheme was at 51 per cent complete against a planned 76 per cent due to an increase in its scope.
As for Water Utilities Corporation’s Debt Amnesty campaign which ran from April 1 to July 31, Mr Motlhanke indicated that it had helped reduce domestic debt by P1.1 million.
He stated that the resealing and road marking of the Omaweneno–Tsabong road which has been delayed for nearly two years due to procurement disputes was now expected to be completed by mid-October 2025.
The chairman noted that the crime situation in the district was generally stable, with a commendable reduction in violent and sexual crimes.
However, he observed that stock theft remained a persistent challenge, noting that to address it, police were collaborating with village leadership to encourage the use of branding and animal tagging technologies.
Mr Motlhanke urged the community and stakeholders to continue working together for the betterment of the district and of Botswana.
Source: dailynews
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