You hate Bakwena � Mmatli tells govt
Staff Writer | Tuesday December 1, 2015 17:26
He said that his predecessor, Daniel Kwelagobe, was in Parliament for more than three decades under the ticket of the ruling party, but the village was left underdeveloped to this day.
“We can see that this government hates Bakwena, but everybody is watching. We cannot have one area of the country getting all developments when others are left underdeveloped. We promise that when we take over, that trend is going to stop,” he said briefly before his time was up.
Member of Parliament for Gantsi South, Noah Salakae, requested the government to abolish A and B salary scales in the civil service, saying they are an insult to the working class. He said that some of the salaries are below some allowances enjoyed by MPs and cabinet ministers. Ministers can opt not to live in ministerial houses and get a P13,000 housing allowance, when that amount is an annual salary for some civil servants.
He said that unemployment can be addressed only if there is serious commitment from cabinet, and such commitment should be demonstrated by their attendance of Parliament proceedings.
“If we had a serious cabinet, that respects Parliament, listening to these concerns, we could create jobs and address unemployment in this country.”
He said that declaration of assets for those holding public office could also allay suspicions that leaders are involved in corrupt activities to enrich themselves with state resources.
He said a statement uttered by one senior member of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) that it is their time to eat (ke nako ya rona ya go ja) has serious implications and there is evidence that the party was doing exactly that.
Salakae accused the government of abandoning cattle farming in favour of game ranching as it has done everything to frustrate the growth of the sector, adding that the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) monopoly should be abolished. The MP said that a group of Gantsi farmers came together and came up with a US$100 million project concept for beef exports through Namibia, but the idea did not survive because of stiff resistance from government.
Meanwhile, Salakae said that Basarwa have been forced to relocate from Ranyane settlement to give way for wildlife, but they have since succumbed to alcoholism in their new home village in Bera.
He said that government has cut water supplies to Ranyane residents. He added that some minister has threatened to cut off water supply for residents of other villages who do not attend his kgotla meetings.