Africa-Press – Botswana. It is imperative for Batswana from all walks of life to come together and work as a unit to build a new Botswana.Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe said this when addressing a kgotla meeting in Gumare on Friday.
He said in the quest to build a new Botswana, it was vital that all knuckle down and did things differently to resuscitate the ailing economy. The slump in diamond sales due to various factors among them the advent of lab-grown diamonds as well as global economic shocks according to Mr Gaolathe called for renewed vigor and courage from Batswana.
Batswana, led by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), he said should not bury their heads in the sand but should take the bull by the horns to ensure that the narrative of Botswana’s development and real diamond was made clear to the lucrative diamond market.
He was happy though that there were positive signs in the sales of diamonds although not significant, which he said called for belt-tightening in the management of resources to ensure prudent use of dire financial resources.
Also, Mr Gaolathe said tough economic times called for shrewd management of parastatals and where necessary expanding some of the existing State-Owned Enterprises beyond the confines of Botswana borders to bring in the much-needed revenue for development and create jobs for the citizenry.
He said with other minerals coming to the fore such as Copper and Iron-Ore thanks to mineral prospecting in the North West and Ghanzi districts, the future looked bright as Botswana was already engaging world-renowned multi-nationals in the sector to ensure Batswana benefitted a great deal from the vast mineral deposits.
However, he acknowledged the poor state of the working class and the acute shortage of resources they were putting up with, something he said the new administration was working round the clock to address. He said the government further wanted to see young people being given a chance and support to bring technological solutions to the many problems the nation was faced with.
Earlier on, Kgosi Moitshepi Molwelwa decried inadequate office space as well as lack of furniture at the kgotla. He also asked Mr Gaolathe to intervene and make sure that existing vacant posts of Headman of Arbitration that transcended Gumare were filled for the sake of efficiency and service delivery.
His words were shared by Gumare Umbrella Ward Development Committee chairperson, Ms Mmametsi Kesietswe, who also commended government for the Ipelegeng programme, which she said had brought temporary economic relief to the beneficiaries.Although she welcomed the revised Ipelegeng programme, Ms Kesietswe called on government to also consider reviewing the allowances given to the beneficiaries.
She decried shortage of accommodation, which she said was the primary reason many high-calibre officials could not come to Gumare. Nokaneng-Gumare road, the unavailability of a primary hospital, and human-wildlife conflict were at the centre of the many complaints raised by the people of Gumare.
They said government should consider setting up a referral hospital in their district saying the Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital where they were referred to for medical attention was way too far and costly for them as they were forced to spend a night in Maun before they could reach Francistown.
Area MP, Mr Phillimon Aaron told Mr Gaolathe that the Gumare Primary Hospital was in a sorry state. The hospital, he said did not even have essential tuberculosis and diabetes drugs, something, he added threatened the lives of the people of Gumare and the entire district. Like many speakers before him, MP Aaron wanted the government to seek lasting solutions to human-wildlife conflict in the area.
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