Africa-Press – Botswana. “Without secure home ownership and decent accommodation, it is impossible to develop a human being,” says President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Speaking at the launch of the P125 million Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) housing development project in Mmopane yesterday, he said it would undoubtedly give dignity and honour to the working class and their families.
“I was particularly humbled and impressed by the name of the project, Seriti Estate which means dignity and the spirit of Botho,” he said.
President Masisi commended the BOPEU leadership for venturing into property development for the benefit of its members calling it ‘a remarkable achievement that must be encouraged and commended’.
He emphasised the need for social partners such as trade unions and key stakeholders to collaborate with government to achieve more and fight issues such as poverty, lack of decent housing,
Collaboration was also critical towards improvement of public servants’ general standard of living as well as that of society in general, said the President.
Calling on other trade unions to emulate BOPEU and invest in projects which sought to give dignity to their members, he said the role of modern-day trade unions extended beyond conditions of service, collective bargaining and floor shop issues.
Modern day trade unions actively participated in all facets of social life and beyond the workplace as attested by the BOPEU project, Dr Masisi said.
The project, the first of its kind by a trade union, is expected to transform the landscape of the once dusty Mmopane alongside many sprouting building projects set to transform the village into a township worthy of its nickname, Gaborone Extension.
An enclosed estate of 248 units comprising two bedroomed modern apartments, a crèche and recreational facilities, will take two and half years to complete.
BOPEU leader, Ms Masego Mogwera said as the project’s name suggested, it was intended to give dignity to the union’s over 37 000 members.
She explained that the highly ambitious project was conceived to promote and encourage home ownership among members and Batswana at large.
“As a union, we take pride in giving our members value for their subscriptions hence this housing scheme to ensure that our members have access to decent and affordable accommodation,” she stated.
Ms Mogwera revealed that funds permitting, the project would be rolled out to areas such as Molepolole, Ghanzi and the central district where BOPEU already had land.
She said the project would not only benefit BOPEU members but the entire village as it had ripple economic activities such as a pre-school and social and recreational amenities which would be open to the community at highly subsidised rates.
Ms Mogwera said in addition to the Seriti project, the union had successfully negotiated different schemes offering members discounted prices for building materials across the country to enable renovation or upgrading of houses.
CEO of Babereki Investment, a company wholly owned by BOPEU, Mr Vincent Galeromeloe said since 2012 when it acquired pieces of land across the country, the union had dreamt of providing affordable housing to its members.
He said various models were tried to realise the dream but did not see the light of the day.
In 2019, the organisation redefined affordable housing which meant suppressing return on investment but without compromising quality, explained Mr Galeromeloe.
Currently, the asking price for a standard 2-bedroomed unit is P669 000 inclusive of VAT and transfer duty which he said was comparable to none in the market.
Area MP Ms Nnaniki Makwinja commended BOPEU leadership for a progressive initiative saying together with other development projects in the area such as internal roads and police post would greatly benefit the Mmopane community.
She noted that Mmopane already boasted a state-of-the-art private hospital and clinic as well as a new primary school financed by the Chinese government.
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