31 Mar 2015

Gaborone City Council (GCC) has secured P44 million for the backlog eradication project aimed to address the problem of shortage of classrooms, teachers’ quarters and toilets at primary schools.

Addressing a full council meeting recently, the mayor, Mr Kagiso Thutlwe saidthe council also secured more than P18.7 million for construction of teachers’ houses, classroom blocks and toilets blocks at Tsholofelo Primary School.

Mayor Thutlwe said he was hopeful that the project would go a long way in solving challenges of shortage of teachers’ accommodation and overcrowding in classrooms that the teachers and pupils had been experiencing for a long time.

With regard to maintenance, he said, the meagre funding for maintenance of council facilities was a limiting factor due to competing needs.

The mayor told the meeting that three contractors were on site, two for rehabilitating sewerage systems in all 29 GCC primary schools while the other contractor is for treatment of infestation by termites and ants at Phillip Moshotle, Galaletsang, Masa, Segoditshane and Tsholofelo Primary Schools.

The projects, he said were progressing well and anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 2015/16.

He told councilors that Council would undertake a number of projects to improve Gaborone council parks in the coming financial year. 

These would include installation of irrigation systems at various parks, procurement of landscaping plants at parks, procurement of grey water for Tsholofelo, Extension 12 and Vice President parks, procurement of porta-cabins (guard houses) for Tsholofelo and Extension 12 parks as well as outsourcing Block 3 and 8 parks, he added.

Mr Thutlwe informed the meeting that First National Bank of Botswana and Kgalagadi Beverages Trust have donated Tawana and Block 3 parks respectively. He expressed hope that more donations would come this year as title deeds of more open spaces have been collected from the Ministry of Lands and Housing. 

The council would be outsourcing 20 open spaces to private companies to develop and possibly manage, he said. ENDS