Overcrowding Overwhelms Kumakwane Families
Pini Bothoko | Monday February 22, 2021 16:59
It has been years since the last cycle of the residential plot allocations at the village, something that has forced many residents to live in extended-family settings.
Chairperson of Kumakwane Village Development Committee (VDC), Deenie Monthusi told The Monitor the setup has become a crisis.
“Families are crowded, parents live with their children and their grandchildren. The village chief is overwhelmed with family disputes cases. It has been years since residential plot allocations in Kumakwane have been conducted, which has fuelled family disputes as there is overcrowding in the homes,” Monthusi bemoaned.
Monthusi said the last opening for residential plot applications was back in September 2006. She stated that many residents are still on the waiting list and currently reside in extended families. According to the VDC chairperson, every week the village chief is forced to step in to reconcile families, something that would not have been a problem if everyone had their own yard.
“There is no peace in families because they are impatient with others, especially that majority of family members are faced with the high unemployment rate,” she said.
“Both elders and the village youth are unemployed, the crime rate in the village has also increased as people are trying to make ends meet. The majority of people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 something that has caused conflicts in families.”
She said cases of housebreaking and burglary are also a concern in the village. Usually, the culprits are the village youth who are faced with a high unemployment rate, she added.
Thus as the VDC, she said they are calling for investors to open businesses in their village and create job opportunities for residents. She said the only source of employment in the village for both the youth and the elderly is the poverty eradication programme, Ipelegeng.
Furthermore, Monthusi added that Kumakwane VDC is also concerned by the poor developments in the village. She said the village is lagging behind in developments despite being located a few kilometres away from the capital city, Gaborone.
“We are closer to the city, but we do not have a post office. The elderly receive their pension (tandabala) at the village kgotla in envelopes something that we are not pleased with because they are unable to save. If we had a post office in the village, elders could be saving a little sum for themselves,” she said. She said residents are forced to travel long distances to seek out services in Thamaga and Gaborone, something that they are not happy with as the village leadership. Monthusi revealed to have asked for funds as VDC to construct a post office that will also offer internet services to the youth, especially students.
She, however, applauded the government for having recently constructed a better clinic with a maternity wing in the village even though the clinic currently does not offer such a service because it does not have a midwife. “We have welcomed the clinic with both hands, but we are pleading with the government to employ more nurses so that residents won’t have to travel to seek health services in Thamaga and Gaborone,” she said.