Mahalapye bus/taxi rank opens up opportunities
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Thursday November 25, 2021 20:16
The project commenced this year May and it was supposed to be completed by October this year but it had a month delay because the council was forced to relocate people to a new site.
“The project was estimated at P10 million and it has already spent P2,339,383.28.
This project is in two segments, which is paving and stormwater drainage construction, and the works stand at 84% and 56% respectively. There are associated extra works that include tower lights and clear view fence which are being installed and are currently ongoing. All paving for the bus rank is expected to be complete by the end of November 2021, and the bus rank will be open for public use,” Merementsi said on Tuesday when briefing the council meeting. He said the P10 million was allocated in the 2021/2022 financial year under the Road Fund Levy.
The chairperson said even though the P10m budget was too small for a fully-fledged bus rank development, the council managed to do the following works in order to improve the Mahalapye bus rank; new paving of bus and taxi bays, stormwater drainage and improvement of culverts especially at intersections, tower lights, partial fencing and renovation of public toilets. However, he said the P10m bus rank budget could not include other components such as waiting room and market stall.
He indicated that those will be included in their new bigger bus/taxi rank in Mowana ward along the A1 road. In addition, Merementsi said an expression of interest has been publicised for potential investors who can partner with the council for the development of a new bus rank and a shopping mall. He revealed that the council is also in the process of coming up with monthly rental fees for all those who will be trading at the bus rank. He added: “These fees will just be minimal and geared at improving service provision at the bus rank. You shall be informed of the set service fees once they have been approved.” When giving an update on Shoshong minimal infrastructure development, Merementsi said the 18km development project, which was estimated at P47,054,811.00, includes paving, culverts and stormwater drainage.
Currently, paving stands at 96% with 15km complete and open to traffic. Culverts and stormwater drainage works have not yet started but have been awarded and should begin as soon as practically possible after all contractual obligations have been done. The project’s that costs P30,961,604.02 is estimated to be complete by the end of December 9, 2021. On another issue, he said as the country continues to put efforts such as vaccination programme towards fighting the pandemic, results show a significant decline in numbers, with only 30 active cases recorded as of October 2021. “Currently, the Sub District has 44,625 fully vaccinated people, 41.412 partly vaccinated which is 51.9% of the population in our Sub District,” he said.