07 Jul 2015

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is to construct a chancery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The project will cost P25 million. Funds will cover actual construction of the chancery shell and architectural services and project supervision.

The ministry will also use P3 million to maintain the GABS operating system in Botswana missions following its completion in the past financial year. Allocation will also be used to upgrade the operating software as well as conduct tutorial workshops for system users on the new features which would have come with the upgrade.

Funds are part of the over P38.6 million allocated to the ministry for its projects this financial year. A chancery in New York will also be renovated at a cost of P2.5 million. Allocation will be used to pay for various renovation works which were not part of the scope of work during major renovation of the chancery.

The works are necessary for New York Municipal Authority to issue a Certificate of Occupancy for the chancery. An allocation of over P8.1 million has been forwarded to the ministry to maintain government property.

Funds will carry out extensive renovations of government owned property at eight different missions in Washington DC, United States of America at a cost of P200 000, Windhoek, Namibia at PP460 000, Johannesburg, South Africa at P2 million, Lusaka, Zambia at P1 million, Brussels, Belgium at P981 000, Harare, Zimbabwe at P1 million, London, United Kingdom at P2 million and Beijing, China at P500 000.

Funds are to be used to undertake major maintenance works whose nature and magnitude goes beyond the normal minor maintenance budget allocation under the recurrent budget. ENDS