Onalenna Modikwa
9 November 2007
Gaborone — The leadership of the vast Central District Council is considering sub-dividing the district to ensure improved service delivery.
The CDC is currently the biggest district in Botswana and its service delivery to the people is sluggish. Serowe/Palapye Senior Assistant Council Secretary Maluleke confirmed in an interview yesterday that they are currently thinking of sub-dividing the district. "We have recognised that the district is so vast. Such a proposal is there and is yet to be presented before the full council in Serowe."
Maluleke said as such there is a possibility of some major villages like Palapye being declared towns. He indicated that the exercise would entail the establishment of service centres to cater for cluster villages. He however said the CDC is a model of decentralisation in Botswana as it has devolved some of its responsibilities to the current six-sub districts, which "are performing fairly well in terms of service delivery".
Meanwhile, the ACS said major developments that are billed for Palapye include a fire station that is nearing completion. He described the over P10 million project as a welcome development in the area where property has been needlessly gutted by fire.
Palapye is currently serviced by Serowe and Selebi-Phikwe fire stations. "It will help us more so that we are expecting major projects like the construction of the second university that will attract a lot of people to Palapye and the expansion of Morupule Power Station."
Maluleke said the fire station came at the right time. The fire station is currently supervised by the council headquarters in Serowe and will be handed over to Palapye authorities once complete. He said another projects billed for Palapye is the new police station and the new hospital.
He would not give much details because they are outside council jurisdiction. He indicated that these projects are likely to have an impact in the services that the council currently offers as they will over-stretch projects already in place.
The ACS cited the sewerage system that was initially designed for the current population in Palapye. "Currently there is only one abattoir in Serowe that Palapye also relies on for service. It would be ideal to have one in Palapye and we encourage investors to consider its construction because people are now tempted to slaughter their cattle anywhere and sometimes in very unhygienic conditions."
Maluleke stressed that the abattoir construction is one of the council's priorities. He also indicated that the problem of water shortage in Tswapong area would soon be addressed. He stated that the government has funded the project for over P28 million to upgrade the water system in the Tswapong area that includes borehole drilling and electrification. The same will apply to Lecheng area and Mogapi and Mogapinyana.
Maluleke said with the electrification of the project the problem of machine breakdowns would hopefully come to an end. "The areas have a lot of underground water but operating with a diesel engine has been a problem." Meanwhile, the state of the police station is appalling. The offices are small and congested with worn out furniture literally strewn along the corridors. The fence has been vandalized and within the premises are very old buildings with collapsing roofs, which are also safe havens for criminals. However, Station Commander Kobedi Dintwe confirmed that the station's upgrading plan is in the pipeline.
Dintwe said although they have not yet experienced a serious shortage of officers' accommodation the station still needs more officers to police the rapidly expanding district.
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