11 Oct 2015

Residents of Maun West constituency have complained about the poor state of the Maun old hospital.

They informed their MP, Mr Tawana Moremi during a kgotla meeting that the hospital had been neglected since the construction of the new hospital. They said it was  posing a danger to the lives of patients and workers. Residents said safety was questionable at the facitity as there was no electricity.

One of the residents, Kgosi Babinang Majatsie said some nurses were attacked by criminals at night because of the darkness. He urged authorities to do something about the situation, adding that criminals would end up attacking patients.

Another resident, Mr Jakoba Tlhabano complained about the Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, saying the facility was a of high standard but experiencing shortage of basic resources such as blankets, drugs and water. He said the hospital was said to be a referral facility, but that it operates a general hospital. 

On other issues, residents informed their MP that the delay caused by the Tawana Land Board to allocate them residential plots has resulted in many people allocating themselves plots illegally. They said people were living in fear as they have been labeled as squatters and had been warned that they were to be evicted.

Some residents said they had applied for plots 10 years ago and that nothing has been done.  They noted that there was a chunk of land and yet officials take long to allocate them plots.

Some residents also decried the slow pace by public officers in driving poverty eradication programmes, saying they had been trained but were still waiting to receive the necessary material.

They said Ngamiland was poverty stricken and that projects were aimed at uprooting them from poverty.

One of the beneficiaries, Ms Sophie Kandona explained that she had been trained in sewing but that she was still waiting for the machine.

For his part, Mr Moremi informed residents that he was aware of the delay by the land board to allocate plots, adding that it took him eight years to register his residential plot.

He said surprisingly, the officials never attend kgotla meetings to answer residents’ grievances. He expressed hope that the land board would speed up land allocations.

Regarding poverty eradication projects, Mr Moremi assured residents that he would conduct an assessment to find out if projects were not benefiting beneficiaries as expected.

 

He quetioned whether a backyard garden could uproot poverty, stating that it could only assist beneficiaries to have a meal for the day. He also assured residents that he would follow other issues with relevant authorities. Ends