Francistown struggles with ageing infrastructure
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Wednesday February 25, 2026 06:00
He was addressing the City of Francistown Council session, which started yesterday (Monday) here at the Civic Centre. According to Nyeku, sustainable infrastructure is a critical catalyst for travel, investment, and economic growth.
He added that the recent heavy downpours experienced across the city have significantly worsened road conditions, resulting in widespread pothole formation estimated at approximately 12,000m². To adequately address this challenge, he stated that the Council requires an estimated amount of over P8.4million.
However, he noted that an amount of over P10 million has been allocated under the Road Levy Fund to focus on pothole patching and related road maintenance activities within the city.
These include, amongst others, reconstruction of Tswelelo St – Dumela, Asphalt Overlay of Martin Luther King Junior Rd and Tekwane Close (Phase IV) industrial. “The procurement for the same is underway. Further, an amount of P22,300,000 has been apportioned under the same Fund for maintenance and development of streetlights around the city,” he added.
Nyeku indicated that the areas to be covered are Martin Luther King Road, Block 2, Block 3, Mari Mavu Road, Kazungula Road, Seretse Khama Road, Satellite, Area A, Minestone, Monarch, Bluetown, White City, Kgaphamadi, Gerald, and Maipaafela. He shared that a consignment of grid-tied streetlight fittings was received at the beginning of December 2025, whilst the second consignment, which will mostly consist of solar streetlights and their respective poles, is expected before the end of March 2026.
“So far, 135 post-top fittings have been successfully installed, and 190 units of 100W LED fittings have been installed at Gerald along Motlhapisapudi street, resulting in 95% and 82% illumination level in the City centre and Gerald Estate, respectively,” he continued.
Earlier on, he stated that the current financial year has exposed the limitations of our overreliance on government subvention.
He indicated that delays and inconsistencies in the release of funds have affected service delivery and constrained the timely implementation of Council programmes.
This reality confirms that the traditional funding model can no longer fully sustain a growing and ambitious city like Francistown, he added.
“Our approved budget stands at P292,855,174. To date, Council has received P189,108,731.75, whilst expenditure has reached P225,637,498.95, amounting to 119% of the funds disbursed.
“Furthermore, own-source revenue collection stands at P18,796,422.32 against a projected P20,424,241.66, reflecting a shortfall of eight percent,” he said.
According to Nyeku, these figures present a clear warning on our liquidity position and underscore the urgency for reform. He further said that economic resilience demands that they move beyond dependency and embrace innovation. He stated that as they prepare for the new financial year, they must deliberately diversify their revenue base, strengthen internal revenue systems, and pursue sustainable commercial opportunities that will cushion the council against fiscal shocks.
In this regard, Nyeku indicated that the council has taken a strategic step towards economic transformation by establishing a commercial wing mandated to generate additional revenue.
He also called upon councillors to collectively support initiatives that will strengthen the council’s financial resilience, safeguard service delivery, and position the City for sustainable economic transformation.