Africa-Press – Botswana. Permanent Secretary to the President, (PSP) Ms Emma Peloetletse, has explained that development managers are hired to oversee project implementation.
Addressing a meeting with the managers in Gaborone, she expressed concern about reports on social media and complaints made in kgotla meetings where citizens cited instances of development managers hiring individuals from other areas for local projects.
Ms Peloetletse stressed the importance of prioritising local people and companies for these projects.
Further she said that hiring from outside the project area should only occur when specific skills were not available locally.
She reiterated that development managers were primarily responsible for engaging local contractors and labourers to carry out the projects and that the process aligned with public procurement and economic inclusion laws.
“Batswana should be given priority when sourcing the skills, if there is a need for a technical partner, that is when project owners could search outside the country,” she said.
In response to a report from a project catalyst team comprising public servants, Ms Peloetletse underlined the necessity of engaging with development managers to assess project progress and identify any challenges they might face.
Mr Robert Akanyang, a development manager at Okavango Consortium Africa, highlighted their role in delivering infrastructural development projects in the northern part of the country.
These projects, he said encompass the upgrading of the A3 road between Francistown and Nata and the upgrading of four junior secondary schools, along with the construction of a new Rural Administration Centre (RAC) at Tutume.
So far, Mr Akanyang said they had carried out a topical survey as well other field works, including an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as well as submitting all project scopes to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) in Francistown.
He said a geo-technical survey for the schools was done and that it was important to ensure that the projects empowered local communities through employment as well as engaging companies in the region to capacitate them. He said they had also developed a procurement policy that would benefit businesses within the projects location.
Similarly, Mr Boikhutso Ramahobo, coordinator of the HSMV Group, detailed their management of 18 projects in the Chobe region, including roads, houses, schools, hospitals, and clinics.
He noted that were a 100 per cent citizen-owned status and emphasised their commitment to engaging local companies and sourcing expertise and scarce skills from partner companies in South Africa.
He said their meeting with the PSP was to update her on the progress of the projects. He said since their projects were in less developed areas, they experienced challenges but that they were able to overcome them because they concentrated in one region.
Both Mr Akanyang and Mr Ramahobo stressed their dedication to empowering local communities through employment and engagement with regional businesses, all while ensuring project delivery on time and within budget.”
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