Africa-Press – Botswana. Residents of Ntshe ward in Francistown say despite operating under a shoestring budget, government should prioritise public health, youth unemployment, and the school feeding programme.
They said during a kgotla meeting addressed by Member of Parliament for Francistown East, Mr Tiroeaone Ntsima, that measures should be put in place to arrest the situation in the three areas.
They however, appreciated the 15 bills passed by the Winter Parliament, among them the Community-Based Natural Resources Management Bill, the Forest and Range Resources Bill, the Value Added Tax Bill, the Digital Services Bill, the Cannabis Bill, and many others.
One of the residents, Mr Samuel Olefile decried the underdevelopment of the area, citing the unavailability of a kgotla shelter, a clinic, or even shops in Ntshe location, something he said needed urgent attention.
Others called on fellow citizens, particularly pensioners, to quit Ipelegeng and live off their monthly P1 400 old age pension allowance, thereby making way for the unemployed youths to benefit from the programme.
Mr Ndingi Peters suggested that time was ripe for government to consider reviewing the retirement age to about 50 years to open up employment opportunities for the many educated, but unemployed young people.
The residents also pointed fingers at the Francistown City Council for sidelining Ward Development Committees (WDCs) during the registration of companies that undertook public works, stating that that had dealt a significant blow to local companies.
Their view on the matter was that as custodians of the interests of residents, WDCs should be part and parcel of the registration of such companies.
Responding, acting chief civil and mechanical engineering services officer Mr Isaac Legase, agreed that it was time WDCs worked hand in hand with the city council to register the companies in question.
“Ward Development Committees were charged with this responsibility in the beginning, but many irregularities cropped up and a decision was then taken to give the task to the City Council,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there are many complaints also, and I agree that perhaps the two entities should jointly conduct the exercise for transparency sake,” he added.
On others, Mr Legase condemned the irresponsible manner displayed by some backyard mechanics who residents reported drove cars at high speed and disposed of used oil from vehicles indiscriminately, putting people’s lives in danger.
He assured residents that the Bye Law officials would be onboard to stop the rot, noting that it was unlawful to operate mechanical workshops in homesteads.
Area MP, Mr Ntsima who went at length expounding on bills passed during the just-ended parliamentary session, advised residents to consider constructing a multi-purpose hall as opposed to erecting a kgotla shelter, which he said could be done through the Constituency Community Project (CCP) arrangement.
On health issues, Mr Ntsima assured residents that government was moving with speed to contain the dire situation. He stated that millions of Pula would be allocated to the Ministry of Health to address the health crisis facing the country.
He said contrary to views by some people, the government had not shied away from telling the nation about the country’s empty coffers, which he said was the primary reason government had not been able to execute its development plan effectively.
He said it was to that end that government had implemented multiple interventions to improve the country’s fiscal status and continue with other pertinent development projects.
He informed residents that reducing the retirement age for civil servants could have adverse effects and was not necessarily the best way to address youth unemployment.
He said doing so could cost the government more money, as most of the people in question could become a burden in the long run.
He therefore called for patience from all and promised that much effort was being put in place to turn the tide.
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