01 Jun 2015

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, has urged contractors to work hard to deliver government projects on time.

Speaking during a tour of the Molepolole bus terminal project recently, Mr Tsogwane said there was no question that projects were critical to bringing developments to communities and that their delay was a concern to government and projects recipients.

He, however, said his ministry was noting progress so far on both the Molepolole bus terminal and Letlhakeng village infrastructure development projects.

He urged stakeholders including councillors, consultants, council and officials, to be active and guard against project overruns, and that they should not only look out to the ministry as the sole owner of the projects.

They should always advice the authority on challenges and seek assistance on time, he advised. Kweneng District council Secretary Mr Wadza Tema said the 85 per cent complete project was delayed by a host of factors such as the process of obtaining a mining license for gravel, the relocation of water pipes and power lines, and alterations to the design of the terminal building.

Mr Tema said the alteration of the terminal building designs were done to enhance the functionality of the bus rank by increasing the floor levels of the building to cater for the envisaged offices for bye-law, police and ticket offices.

Construction work commenced in January 2012 and was to be complete by August 2014; however, the new completion date has been set to July 2015, and the contractors have promised to hand it on schedule.

However, they were worried that the landscaping may not be complete then because the local VDC might still be working on the removal of the boundary wall to save used bricks.
The project will consist of taxi and bus parking bays, 13 kiosks, 48 market stalls and flea market spaces to cater for SMMEs as well.

In his welcome remarks, Kweneng District Council Chair Mr Jeffery Sibisibi said regular visits by government officials and ministers would assist in terms of pushing contactors to put more efforts to deliver on schedule as Batswana wait to utilise such services.

He said though they appreciated development projects in the district, there was more still to be done in Molepolole and the district as a whole such as the provision of street lights and other services. ENDS