Majaga blasts gov't on Nata-Maun road delay
Pini Bothoko | Friday November 29, 2019 17:59
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nata-Gweta Constituency Polson Majaga said this when reached for an interview following the questions he raised in Parliament related to the bad state of the road.
Majaga had asked the Minister of Transport and Communications when the Nata-Francistown and Nata-Maun road construction project would commence as it was long promised to the constituents by three previous ministers.
The MP said floods known as ‘Dineo’ worsened the condition of the road some years ago but to date there is no hope that the road will be reconstructed as promised, something that is worrisome to the constituents. He said despite the fact that the road leads tourists to their desired destinations, it remains neglected arguing that government has rather opted to construct roads elsewhere in the country and not making the one in his constituency a priority.
Majaga also said the road is so bad that even public transport owners have opted to use Francistown-Orapa road to Maun something that has impacted badly on residents of Gweta and other villages along A3 road.
“That road is in a very bad state of disrepair, it has lots of potholes. In fact I am abusing the word road because it is no longer a road but something else. It’s been years since the government promised to construct this road and its delay worries constituents. My campaign was hard in that constituency because of the condition of that road. Just that they believed in my capabilities as their leader otherwise they could have voted someone else,” Majaga said.
Majaga further revealed that he fears the condition of the road would worsen as the rainy season has started. He said that the road has destroyed residents’ cars as they are forced to use it on daily basis.
“If I talk about this road in Parliament and you have not used it you may think I overeacting. Driving on that road is a nightmare and people have lost hope because former ministers promised them the road would be constructed. But to date there is no hope for its construction. Sadly this road has been a priority even under NDP 10 and the government delayed until its condition was worsened by floods back in 2017,” Majaga said.
Responding to Majaga’s irate attack, Minister Thulagano Segokgo said the Nata-Francistown and Nata-Maun road construction projects were not included in the current National Development Plan (NDP 11) because the ministry does not have funds for the projects. Segokgo stated that the roads have been proposed for inclusion in the NDP 11 during the ongoing mid-term review exercise. Furthermore, he stated that regarding the Nata-Maun road the government was in the process of securing a concessional loan from the Chinese government for its reconstruction.
The roads minister said a feasibility study, which is a requirement of the concessional loan has been concluded for consideration of the loan by Chinese authorities. Segokgo said it was intended that the loan agreement be concluded before the end of the year.