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Khama laments destruction of
Botswana/Zim electric fence
13 July, 2004
BOBONONG - The Vice President
Seretse Khama Ian Khama has lamented that government's efforts to electrify
the border fence between Botswana and Zimbabwe had borne no fruit as people
cut the fence and stolen the solar panels.
Speaking during a consultative
meeting with VDCs and other stakeholders in Mathathane, Lt. Khama said the
ministry has suggested some strategies of controlling the destruction made by
wild animals and would make some recommendations to the government.
The Vice President called on
dikgosi to implore their communities to desist from involving in such criminal
activities.
Khama was responding to remarks
made by Kgosi Richard Serumola that there is need to intensify the control of
elephant movement in Bobirwa, adding that elephants killed people and
destroyed their crops in the district.
Concerning development issues, the
district economic planner, Kgangmotse Kgangmotse, said there was shortage of
classrooms in all the 31 primary schools in the district, adding that there
was need to build 87 273 teachers quarters and 218 toilets.
He said the new feeding programme
was implemented though construction work on the planned school kitchens has
not been completed.
He said the council had planned to
electrify some of the clinics in the 2004/2005 recurrent budget but this would
not happen due to budgetary constraints.
Kgangmotse noted that the demand
in transport has increased as HIV/AIDS patients were being transported to
Serowe and Francistown almost everyday for ARV therapy.
He was however hopeful that the
introduction of such treatment in Bobonong will help relieve the need for
transport.
Concerning the social welfare
section, Kgangmotse said Bobirwa has a total of 774 destitute persons eligible
for assistance and people still come forward for assessment due to various
reasons such as the loss of bread winners within the family and insufficient
rains that hinders people from ploughing.
He said there were 324 home based
care patients who are provided with food baskets as per their needs and more
than 27 500 orphans in the sub district.
He lamented that while the council
was trying its best to assist VDCs to collect rental arrears the problem still
persisted.
He said the Bobirwa VDCs were owed
P112 741 as rental arrears as at the end of March this year.
However, the VDCs recovered P9
560.
Kgangmotse said while tenants owed
the VDCs, committee members misappropriate funds and in addition failed to
submit monthly arrears as the council requested, adding that this made it
difficult to assist them collect the arrears, he said.
SOURCE
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