Francistown hopes for good tidings from budget
Chakalisa Dube | Friday January 30, 2015 16:24
In recent years the budget has not given Francistown much joy in terms of infrastructure development and provision of critical services such as health, a trend attributed to the 2008 economic meltdown which exposed the fragility of Botswana’s economy.
Only a few projects such as the upgrading of low-income locations of infrastructure at Monarch, the construction of the Ramokgwebana road that has since been completed, as well as the Francistown Tonota road currently under construction have been funded. However, the economy has picked up sufficiently in recent years with good sales in the pivotal diamond sector. The improving economic fortunes of the country has raised expectations that this year’s budget will bring good tidings to Francistown. This week, Francistown South legislator, Wynter Mmolotsi told Mmegi Business that he hopes the government will fund more projects in the city in a bid to improve infrastructure.
“The president has been moving around the country telling the nation that the economy has improved. The budget for Francistown should reflect the improvement of the economy.”
Mmolotsi said that he would like to see more projects that were shelved being implemented. “We have the storm water drainage master plan shelved some years ago due to the economic recession. We expect that now that the economy is said to be healthy, it should be implemented. Internal roads are also in a bad state so we expect the government to avail funds for the construction of internal roads,” he said.
Mmolotsi expects the government to convert one of the clinics in the city into a 24-hour facility. He said that currently, Area W clinic is the only facility offering 24-hour services but it cannot cope with the numbers.
“ I trust that now that the economy has improved, enough funds will be available to convert one clinic into a 24-hour health facility. There is also shortage of doctors and resources in health institutions around the city, so one will expect that government will rectify the situation because the economy has improved.”
Mmolotsi said that coming up with new projects particularly those on infrastructure would boost employment in the city and empower businesses, as many will have more purchasing power.
Francistown mayor, Sylvia Muzila agreed with Mmolotsi on the need for government to cater for the development of the storm drainage and improvement of health facilities in the city in the next fiscal year. “As a starting point, I believe that the government should provide more funds to service business land. Francistown needs more investors to create jobs but without enough serviced land, it is a challenge to attract investors. My hope is that the budget will address that.”
She hopes that the government will increase money allocated to the poverty eradication scheme and youth to start businesses to include more beneficiaries.
Two weeks ago during a special council meeting to discus the budget, Phillip Matante East councillor, Shadreck Nyeku, bemoaned that since 2008, many projects have been shelved due to recession. He said there is need for government to allocate more money for infrastructure development now that the economy has improved. He added that as Francistown positions itself to become a business hub by 2022, more funds have to be directed to building infrastructure. He said that good infrastructure and improved services from government is very critical if the city is to turn into a business hub.