04 Sep 2024

Ministry of Transport and Public Works does not have any intention to amend Section 111 of the Public Procurement Act of 2021.

This was said by Minister of Transport and Public Works, Honourable Eric Molale in response to a question in Parliament on Monday. 

Minister Molale said non-participation of public officers and their families was also pronounced in the conditions of service for public officers, hence amending Section 111 would not be sufficient.

“Government and indeed my ministry is desirous to provide an environment where public officers and their families are adequately housed,” he said. 

He highlighted that government had made available schemes to encourage public officers to build their own houses.

He stated that such schemes included Government Employees Motor Vehicle Advance Scheme (GEMVAS), sale of pool houses, SHHA for public officers at scales D4 and below and SHHA home improvement, among others.

He also said public officers were at liberty to lease the houses to the private market.

In addition to the schemes, Minister Molale said government leased houses from the private market, Botswana Housing Corporation and Village Development Committees to augment government housing stock for leasing to public officers who were in need of rental accommodation.

“This is in addition to annual budgetary provisions for construction of more government pool houses,” he said. 

Furthermore, he said the law had no direct impact on the success of schemes such as GEMVAS and SHHA, which encouraged public officers to build houses.

“There is no evidence to suggest that houses acquired through these programmes are for rental purposes, on the contrary, indications are that the houses are mainly for owner occupation,” he said.

 He indicated that the 2023 housing pitso explored different means of delivering more houses in Botswana, especially by the private sector using liquidity in the market and various building technologies to address current housing shortages. 

The Minister said the pitso further considered various financing mechanisms which were inclusive to cater for people of different affordability profiles.

Additionally, Minister Molale noted that it was resolved that the regulatory frameworks should be harmonised to streamline processes in the entire housing delivery chain. 

“It was also resolved that the planning, allocation and development of land should be expedited to adhere to the principles of developing inclusive and sustainable communities,” he said.

He added that implementation of such commitments were work in progress because most of them would form part of the revised national policy on housing, which was currently under review. 

“Furthermore, rolling out of Kalahari Sand Building Block facilities were at an advanced stage in six remote villages,” he said.

Ghanzi North MP, Mr John Thiite had asked the minister whether his ministry did not consider it necessary to amend Section 111 of the Public Procurement Act of 2021, which currently prohibited public officers and employees of public bodies and their immediate family members from participating as bidders in any public procurement, specifically to exempt renting of houses to government by public officers. 

Mr Thiite also wanted the minister to state alternative measures the ministry had to support public officers and their families in securing housing without undermining the principles of the Public Procurement Act, given the current housing shortages and the increasing demand for affordable housing solutions.

He further wanted to know what impact the law had on the success of the schemes such as GEMVAS and SHHA, which encouraged public officers to build houses and what commitments were made at the housing pitso held in 2023 to address the current housing shortages and what progress had been made of the implementation to address the housing shortage in the country. Ends