Africa-Press – Botswana. The Mmathethe Service Centre, which was awarded for construction in 2016 and scheduled to be complete in nine months, is not yet complete,
Answering a question in Parliament on Thursday, the acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture Dr Edwin Dikoloti said there was no definite date on the commencement of the operation due to lack of funds to complete the project.
Dr Dikoloti said two contractors had so far been engaged, however both contractors were terminated on account of non-performance in 2018 and 2021 respectively.
The acting minister said the estimates for the project as carried out in 2023 was P7,978,988.00.
He said the scope of the remaining works including the refurbishments of the vandalised components were costed.
Dr Dikoloti said there was a consideration being made to find alternative funding for the project to bring it to completion and operation for the benefit of the farmers.
Meanwhile, Dr Dikoloti said P32,019.35 was spent monthly to safeguard the project from further vandalism, with five people engaged on temporary basis, being two gatekeepers and three night watch-men.
He further said an amount of P6,975,329.28 had been spent on the project to date with an initial contract sum of P10,067,982.40.
The acting minister was responding to a question from the MP for Kanye East, Mr Prince Mosanana who had asked the minister to state when the centre would be completed and start operation.
He also asked the minister to state the amount used to pay people manning the facility monthly as well as the total money spent on the project to complete.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
