Africa-Press – Botswana. North West District Council chairperson, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotlho and his deputy, Mr Lekonne Masoko have been ousted from office for allegedly failing to address pertinent issues in the district.
The duo was removed from office during a special full council on Tuesday following an update on the refurbishment of the old Maun General Hospital project which had been dragging for years.
It was reported that the general progress of the project was stuck at 90 per cent mainly because of challenges such as contractor abandoning the project, perpetual vandalism of already completed works and break-ins.
Some councillors did not accept the report and proposed a resolution to request the chairperson and his deputy to resign from their positions arguing that the report was an indication that they had failed dismally as the project commenced in 2017 and was still not completed and yet the chairperson had failed to consult them on challenges experienced.
The duo was voted out by 20 councillors against six who argued that the leadership was doing all in its power to report on the issues in every full council session noting that the issues were also updated in the District Development Committee (DDC) report.
The project was awarded to Net Builders Construction to the tune of P66 million. It commenced in July 2017 and was expected to be completed in 2018.
One of the councillors who called for the removal of the leaders, Mr Ntlogelang Kebonyekgotla of Boyei ward cited that members of the community had been demanding answers on the delay but councillors were not in a position to provide them with information because they were not consulted on challenges encountered in the project.
The government, he said, spent millions on the envisaged project with an expectation that it would be a 24-hour referral hospital.
“People are forced to travel long distances to Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital to access health services. Health issues are a priority but our chairman and his deputy failed to engage us or share information so that we map a way forward as a collective,” he added.
Councillor Moetetsi Mogalakwe of Makalamabedi ward supported the resolution arguing that it was the role of the leadership to consult fellow councillors on challenges encountered with regard to projects undertaken in the district.
The situation at the old hospital, he said left a lot to be desired citing that toilets were not functional and that it was dark at night posing danger to workers.
Those, who were in favour of the chairperson and deputy, argued that their fellow members were introducing an item not included in the agenda of the special full council and requested them to respect the standing order which stated that only specified items should be debated.
Councillor Luke Motlaleselelo of Bojanala ward pointed out that the removal of the two leaders did not qualify for special council as initially there were two items being; update on the water situation and update on progress of Maun General Hospital project.
He reminded the house that they had resolved several times to send delegations to ministries to debate on pertinent issues.
Mr Ntsogotlho urged the councillors not to mislead the house stressing that all projects were reported in the council speech and the DDC report.
He also noted that as leadership, they recently interrogated Ngami District Health Management Team on the hospital project of which they responded that the project was supervised at ministry level.
“Let us be truthful to this house. I am aware of your plot to oust me but I request that you play that basing on the truth,” he added.
However, Mr Ntsogotlho decided to recuse himself together with his deputy citing that they were conflicted and the house elected councillor Itumeleng Kelebetseng as an interim chairperson to continue with the proceedings of the day.
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