10 Sep 2024

The last sitting of the 2019/2024 Bobirwa District Council offers political and administrative officers time to reflect on the contributions they made at the wards and indeed the two constituencies of Mmadinare and Bobonong.

Speaking during the opening of the last council sitting before the general election slated for October 30, council chairperson, Mr Kgomotso Mmereki said time was ripe for the council employees and political wing to celebrate their successes whilst hatching ways to better deliver services to the people.

Mr Mmereki challenged those contesting in the elections to sharpen themselves up to deliver on their mandate upon their success at the polls.

While celebrating the attainment of a full council status in April last year, Mr Mmereki said that and other achievements should spur all to bolster their performances. Upon being declared a full council, he said, the council leadership put all requirements in place to fulfil the latest acquired status by way of, among others, filling up the top most positions in order to have the captaincy of the BDC ship in place before a take-off.

Mr Mmereki yearned for effective action towards delivery of the council mandate, although alive to the financial challenges dogging the district council, which was reportedly running at P31 million budget deficit.

However, he said the council was working tirelessly towards financial stability.

“We started experiencing financial challenges from 2017/18 financial year and this has been recurring all these years hitherto,” he said. The said financial challenges reportedly affected service delivery and council operations, according to the chairperson.

Despite the enumerated challenges, Mr Mmereki said unprecedentedly, the council managed to deliver services within budget in the last quarter.

In hindsight, he recalled the ambitious vision the council set five years ago, that sought to transform Bobirwa into a model of sustainable development, inclusiveness and community empowerment.

“We pledged to build a district where every citizen, regardless of their background, would have access to essential services, opportunities for growth and a voice in the decision-making process,” he recollected.

The outgoing chairperson, who would not contest in the upcoming general election, said although the council received full revenue support grant, the revenue from own sources fell short of expectations. The district, it is said, was committed to leveraging the public, private partnership model to render developments in the district. Such projects included consolidating the bus rank, public square and government enclave plots at Bobonong Mall phase II.

“We are excited about the potential of this project and our ongoing commitment to expanding PPP efforts. To effectively manage these partnerships, we recognise the importance of capacity building,” he said, adding three council officers were undergoing training to conduct such. ends