09 Oct 2024

Parliamentary candidates in Mmopane/Metsimotlhabe Constituency have said the quest to improve the livelihood of the residents drove them to compete in the upcoming general elections.

Speaking during a Radio Botswana debate on Tuesday evening, Ms Hellen Manyeneng of Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) said the area had been producing poor academic results.

Ms Manyeneng said the area also faced high levels of unemployment, crime and shortage of potable water. The UDC, she said would address such issues, including  poor infrastructure especially in Metsimotlhabe. Ms Manyeneng said people with disabilities were not given appropriate assistance.

She said the UDC government would introduce a national health insurance, which would give citizens access to health facilities of their choice. Ms Manyeneng said lactating mothers would be given an allowance of P300 per month to enable them to take care of their infants.

She said talent should be identified and developed at early stages because not all learners were academically gifted. She said under the UDC government  relevant facilities like libraries and computer laboratories would be availed and there would be an infrastructure development fund for  maintenance of facilities. Ms Manyeneng said learners would be provided with two meals every day, even during school holidays.

Gilbert Watshipi of Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) said if voted in power, his party would audit all government accounts and also review the Constitution.

Mr Watshipi said the level of developments in the country had been uneven, with some constituencies more developed than others and therefore said he would propose that each constituency be handed equal amounts for developments. Such funds,he said could be used to expand water networks in the area.

Mr Watshipi said health should be prioritised as the clinics in the area did not operate on a 24-hour basis and did not have maternity wards. He said the area needed a unified secondary school to accommodate pupils from the area who are forced to attend schools in other areas. He said the area experienced high crime because it did not have streetlights.

Mr Nkwalili Nkosana of Real Alternative Party (RAP) said they would address issues of economic injustice in the country. He said the government should provide citizens with potable water and respond accordingly to pandemics. Mr Nkosana said there should be a law against witchcraft and police have to be trained adequately to deal with such issues as they contributed to ritual killings.

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) candidate, Mr Mokgweetsi Kgosipula, said Mmopane/Metsimotlhabe faced challenges among them poverty and unemployment. Another concern,  he said, was the number of years it took for people to be allocated  residential plots.

Mr James Lekgetho of Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), said all what his competitors addressed were already solved by the government. He, however admitted that not everything could be done at once.

Mr Lekgetho said the government was now distributing water from Masama to the southern parts of the country, adding this was some of the achievements of the ruling party. He said under the Revised Land Policy, Batswana were to be allocated a plot in urban and rural areas as well as a ploughing field.

Regarding crime, he said the government was already a step ahead as police stations were to be constructed. He said  a unified secondary school had also been planned for Mmopane and the designs had been completed.

Mr Lekgetho said the government had also planned to undertake infrastructure projects  in Mmopane, adding the Chinese government had funded the development of a 9km road to Block 9. The BDP candidate said all developments were undertaken according to the plans which were now aligned with political terms.

Mr Lekgetho said government had started a land audit and such Mogoditshane Sub-land Board would allocate plots in Mogoditshane and a further 1 700 would be allocated in Mmopane. He said the government took the decision to privatise some operations as it saw the need of building a private sector-led economy and reduce the public service wage bill. ENDS