21 Apr 2014

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development says local authorities and community based organisations are encouraged to come up with solutions to challenges they face in their localities in order to assist government.

Speaking at the signing of an agreement between Kgatleng District Development Fund (KDDF) and Clean Energy Botswana for the construction of the waste to energy power and carbon capture plant in Mochudi recently, Minister Peter Siele said the initiative and partnership were indicative of the fact that communities were capable of taking charge of their own destiny.

The plant would cost approximately P770 million and would create about 550 jobs. With the other spinoff activities such as quarry, recycling and salvaging, it could create about 1 000 jobs.

He said the partnership was a win-win undertaking and urged all parties to nurture the relationship, adding that the plant would alleviate the waste management problem facing Kgatleng District Council.

Minister Siele said the agreement would culminate into the construction of a Waste to Energy Power and Carbon Capture Plant at Pilane landfill and Clean Energy Botswana (Pty) Ltd committed to develop, commission and operate the waste to energy facility.

He said phase one of the facility would process approximately 20 tons of fresh waste per day and would serve as the demonstration phase.

The minister said the objectives of phase one were to receive and process all the available solid waste from Kgatleng using a clean, pollution free process in proven waste processing facility.

In addition, he said, it would capture the Carbon Dioxide emitted from the plant and neutralizes it and produce pure minerals for export using locally produced quarried feldspar.

Minister Siele said in phase one as well, the facility would produce some electricity most of which would be used within the plant, with a small amount that could be sold to an off-taker.   

Phase two is the expansion of the Waste to Energy facility to handle 400 tons of waste per day and would extend the solution of waste management beyond Kgatleng district to Gaborone, South East, Kweneng and Lobatse councils as the plant will ably handle volume of waste from the initial 20 tons to 400 tons.

For his part the Executive Chairman of KDDF Cllr Mpho Moruakgomo said the partnership bore the objectives of KDDF to leverage extra resources for the local government’s development endeavor

Cllr Moruakgomo said that given the economic challenges faced by the government and dwindling resource for Local Authorities, it was imperative that Local Authorities use the human resource capital that they mobilise community based organisations and local communities to use local endowments and social capital to leverage resources for agreement on what they got from central government.

He said preliminary works at Pilane Landfill were expected to commence on 1st May. Council Chairman for Kgatleng, Mr Kgosietsile Mooketsi said the challenges of the economic recession require the nation to seek extra-ordinary solutions to solve the everyday problems that begets citizenry especially indiscriminate waste disposal and unemployment.    

He said once the project had commenced there would be obvious changes in behavior as waste would no longer be seen as a nuisance but rather a resource and this would open up possibilities for community involved in waste management.

Mr Mooketsi congratulated the Kgatleng District Council and its arm the KDDF for their vision to forge a partnership of this nature which would go a long way in addressing the problem of waste disposal, saying as Kgatleng District Council they would continue to engage with other stakeholders to explore possibilities for other partnerships and collaboration especially in the current financial situation.

He encouraged the parties involved in the project to expedite its implementation lest they lost out in tourism as a district and country. Ends