Saleshando to move rent subsidy motion
Oarabile Mosikare | Tuesday May 5, 2020 12:24
Saleshando wants to propose that the fund assists Batswana, who are unable to pay rentals for their residential and business premises, as well as Batswana in the informal sector, who have lost their income on account of the lockdown.
In a correspondence dated May 4, 2020 to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Saleshando argued that his motion is urgent as there are many Batswana who are unable to pay rentals as they have lost their regular income due to the lockdown.
“In the case of my constituency, some of their employers in the tourism sector closed down their businesses in February and staff were advised to take unpaid leave. Landlords are demanding rental payments as some of them are dependent on the rental income for their own sustenance,” the Maun West legislator said.
He said it is common knowledge that those who are in the informal sector have lost all their income due to the lockdown and deserve financial relief in the same way that those that are employed on a fulltime basis benefit from the wage subsidy.
Saleshando will today in Parliament also ask the Minister of Finance and Economic Development a question without notice.
Saleshando will ask “that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to provide details of purchases made by government for supplies associated with COVID-19 since the declaration of the State of Emergency with a value of over P1 million through direct appointment. Specifically, the minister should state the companies engaged and the goods they procured. Further, the minister should state details of medical supplies worth over P2.4 billion procured from China”.