Africa-Press – Botswana. Land, agriculture, health and local governance are the four key priorities that Member of Parliament for Bobirwa will focus on during his second five year term.
Addressing his first kgotla meeting in Bobonong post his re-election as the constituency’s MP, Mr Taolo Lucas said the outlined areas needed to be prioritised in order to improve the lives of his constituents.
Mr Lucas said trust and confidence bestowed upon him needed to be rewarded with quality representation on issues that affected the electorate’s daily lives, many of which are covered by the four priorities in question.
The MP said that while pushing to engineer changes in the key priorities, he was alive to the fact that the current government came into power while the coffers were reportedly almost dry. However, he said that his constituents needed to realise improved service delivery.
MP Lucas said many of his constituents in Bobonong, Mathathane and Gobojango were in dire need of residential plots, an issue he said needed collective approach from all the concerned parties.
However, the MP said other villages had experienced positive changes in residential plots allocation to a point where others had oversupply.
“Some people don’t benefit from government programmes because of shortage or lack of land and have since expressed their frustrations,” said MP Lucas.
While acknowledging and commending the government’s resolve to transfer clinics back to local government to better serve the people, the Bobirwa legislator said that such a move should be supported by resourcing the health facilities.
“These clinics should be fully equipped and supported by a budget,” adding that the long awaited implementation of the 70-bed district hospital should come to fruition.
The hospital is reportedly under the development manager for consideration.
Mr Lucas was optimistic that when built, the district hospital would help ease queuing for services such as surgeries which he said took long.
“Some patients can wait for years in order to undergo operations while their health deteriorates,” he said.
Also, the MP said that after receiving clinics back to their fold, the Bobirwa District Council should revitalise mobile clinic operations, a noble cause that had been hailed by recipients, according to Mr Lucas.
On agriculture, the MP said the electorate should be allocated fields for produce. He said that there was need for water policy in agriculture which would ease drilling of boreholes to aid production in such fields.
He was optimistic that since the motion for water policy in agriculture, once moved by MP Wynter Mmolotsi would be adopted during the current Parliament.
The Bobirwa MP also said he would advocate for subsidising drilling of boreholes so that the development do not remain a preserve of the few financially muscled.
Owing to the experience from last year’s drought, Mr Lucas opined that with boreholes in ploughing fields farmers would be able to plant animal feeds to dry seasons.
While calling for improved service delivery to the people, MP Lucas said that councils should be fully equipped with a sound budget to deliver services to the people without fail.
He argued that local government, through district councils, was better placed to address disability issues unlike currently where the issues fall under the Office of the President and district health management teams.
On other issues, he applauded UDC government for considering raising Ipelegeng wages to P2 500, saying the move would positively affect families.
He also said that the expected P1 800 old age pension was a welcome development especially that some of his electorate spoke vehemently against double-dipping of government programmes especially by those on old age pension.
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