27 Aug 2024

Solid road networks, particularly in today’s rapidly advancing world where staying connected is critical, cannot be emphasised enough.

In that regard, the road infrastructure such as the A3 and the A33 corridors  formed the basis through which goods and services could reach people, including the  Nata community and surrounding.

His Excellency President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was speaking  during the groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the A3 (Francistown-Gweta) and the A33 (Nata-Gwasha veterinary gate) roads in Nata yesterday.

The groundbreaking ceremony was the second leg of the reconstruction of the A3 road following a similar exercise that President Masisi presided over in Mathangwane on Monday.

“I am happy that today we are here to deliver on one of the many promises that we pledged to undertake in 2019,” he said, reminding all and sundry that both A3 and A33 corridors had been and continued to be important trade routes that connected Botswana to other countries.

He relayed that besides being used for trade, the corridor had been traversed by many Africans in their quest for freedom.

The government, he relayed was well versed with the huge role the A3 and A33 roads played in the socio-economic transformation of the people of Nata and other villages, hence the resolve to reconstruct the two roads.

The project, according to President Masisi could have long begun but was halted following a deadlock with the initial potential financiers as the government felt the proposed interest rate charged at the time was too steep.

“Re ne re a bone nako eo. Bothata ke gore madi a bone a ne a tura,” he said, explaining the delay to the masses that gathered to witness the genesis of the multi-million-Pula project, which is also the first to be done using the Development Manager model.

He explained that the development manager approach would curb instances of cost overruns and substandard workmanship that characterised developments in the past.

Also, the model he added would be spearheaded by Batswana companies, who would in turn use their proceeds to revitalise the economy.

It is to this end that government would want to bring in more Batswana development managers with the view of realising a private-sector economy with citizen companies in mind, he noted.

In addition, President Masisi said that as much as government had the obligation to develop its people, Batswana also had the responsibility to take care of such developments.

The Minister of Transport and Public Works, Honorable Eric Molale took the gathering down memory lane of the developments in the area, including developments that led to the construction of the tarring of the Nata-Maun Road in 1986. He shared that the Reset Agenda by President Masisi was the sole reason his ministry was making huge strides in the development sector.

“I am happy that the Development Model is now paying dividends as we now have Batswana companies leading major projects such as the current one,” he said, saying it was no longer business as usual at the ministry he was leading.

Mr Molale called on contractors, especially local ones, to introspect and adopt the mindset change for further developments.

Like President Masisi, he called on Batswana to desist from vandalism, saying the practice cost government a lot of money that could have been channeled elsewhere to further develop Batswana.

Development Manager, Mr Boikhutso Ramahobo expressed happiness on the confidence shown by government in local contractors. He promised that he and fellow contractors would do their best to deliver the project on time and within costs.

Area MP, Mr Polson Majaga, commended government for finally heeding the plight of the people by having the two roads reconstructed.

“Re ntse re lela, mogolo o tsile go re phimola dikeledi. Ga ba bantsi ba ba dirang jaana,’ he said, giving President Masisi a pat on the back for doing a sterling job at the helm of the government.

Jubilant Kgosi Justin Ntuane of Nata said the developments meant improved socio-economics for the people of Nata.

He said as appreciative as the people of Nata were, it was their wish that Nata attained a fully-fledged district status. Ends