Khonani Ontebetse
3 April 2008
The Corps of Engineers of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) embarked on an environmental clean-up campaign in Tlokweng over the weekend. The event was held under the theme "Corps of Engineers Keep Botswana Clean."
Welcoming the BDF after the clean-up campaign, BaTlokwa Paramount Chief, Kgosi Puso Gaborone, commended the BDF for choosing Tlokweng out of other villages around Gaborone.
"I thank the BDF for choosing Tlokweng out of other villages and going on a clean- up campaign in their busy schedule," he said. The BaTlokwa leader said the BDF's involvement in community projects was part of the ideals of Vision 2016. He said the clean-up campaign should be a challenge to BaTlokwa and other residents of Tlokweng.
"The cleaning of the environment and the village as a whole should be everyone's responsibility. Health is a priority, but people seem not to take this seriously," he said.
Kgosi Gaborone emphasised that a clean environment should be everyone's responsibility, saying as much as people did not want to live in untidy yards, they should also keep their environment clean.
He implored Tlokweng residents to continue the BDF's efforts and pointed out that some drinking holes and bars contributed to littering. "The council should ensure that when it issues licences, those individuals abide by their regulations. People should keep their surroundings clean all the time," he said. "I hope that Batswana will learn from the BDF because they are sending a positive message to us," he said.
Giving the objectives of the cleaning up campaign, Corps Commander Colonel Anderson Matlho said they were motivated by the former First Lady Barbara Mogae's cleaning-up campaigns in which she mobilized.
"Barbara Mogae embarked on an environmental campaign a while ago. We wanted to take over from where she left," he said, adding that the clean-up campaign was part of their outreach programme. "In our effort to reach out to the community, we identify a family in a village and then see how we can assist. We asses its needs and assist where we can," said Matlho. The Corps Commander said they carried out the programme twice a year. He revealed that some of the targeted villages are Maun, Gantsi and Gumare.
An official from the Department of Waste Management, Kabelo Mogami, said they hired the Green Scorpion to assist them in sensitising the public about the hazards of littering and harm the environment.
"The Scorpions are tasked with ensuring that the environment is clean and that people do not litter or dispose of things likely to harm the environment carelessly," he said, warning that those who refused to cooperate with the Scorpions would face the wrath of the law.
"People seem not to take the problem associated with littering seriously. For instance, walls in many places have been affected by people who urinate anywhere instead of using relevant facilities. Some people ignore notices inscribed on such walls like 'do not urinate here,'" he said.
Mogami said people who operate garages from their homes were causing another environmental problem as oil spills contaminate underground water. He took a swipe at churches that hold their sessions on the outskirts of the village, saying they are in the habit of leaving the place in a mess. Mogami warned that some fumes or gases were capable of rendering men impotent or resulted in women giving birth to mentally retarded babies.
For his part, South East North Member of Parliament, Olebile Gaborone, said the BDF was one of few security institutions in Africa that had gone beyond protecting citizens and which engaged in community projects.
"Some security forces in other African countries sometimes engage in the massacre of innocent citizens. But that is not the case with the BDF," he said. The BDF did not only come to clean Tlokweng but also came to deliver a message to the residents of Tlokweng. "The message should be taken to schools. Students can learn a lot from the BDF's noble gesture," he said.
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