Francistown mayor admits FCC misled nation
Mmegi Editor | Wednesday September 9, 2020 09:07
FRANCISTOWN: Francistown mayor Godisang Radisigo has admitted the Francistown City Council (FCC) misled the nation when denying some of the food items meant to cushion Batswana from the effects of the coronavirus-induced lockdown were rotten or rotting.
The COVID-19 relief food packages for Francistown have been kept at Aerodrome Primary School hall. Last Wednesday, the council was reluctant to comment on indications that it had started destroying some of the COVID-19 relief food items that were reportedly expired. That was after an investigative piece Mmegi published had indicated that close to 250 bags of maize meal were destroyed (last Wednesday) by the council at the Dumela Industrial site landfill after they were found to have reached their expiry date.
The maize meal was part of the food items that were bought for the COVID-19 relief food initiative just before government changed its stance to say it will no longer give Batswana the relief food for May and June 2020. The food items were only issued out in April.
During a press briefing in Gaborone last Friday, Radisigo admitted that some of the food items that were initially meant for the COVID-19 relief initiative have been destroyed after they were found to have expired.
"Health experts advised the council to constantly check the food items with a view of removing and destroying those that have expired. Since then, (FCC stored the food items at Aerodrome). We have been destroying those that have reached their expiry date. We have been doing that for some time," Radisigo said.
Radisigo's recent position contradicts what the FCC through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development said a few weeks ago. Following revelations by
Mmegi's sister publication The Monitor that some food items were rotting, the council through the ministry released a strong-worded statement vehemently denying there were thousands-pula-worth of COVID-19 relief food items that were reportedly rotting (or have reached their expiry date) at Aerodrome Primary School.
"No perishable goods are in stock and of course all items procured by the council are within their shelf life," reads part of the statement from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural development spokesperson Masego Ramokate after The Monitor story.
During the press briefing last Friday, coordinator of the COVID-19 relief food initiative Gabriel Seeletso said that the expired food items would be destroyed accordingly while others (COVID-19 relief food items that are yet to expire) would be given to destitutes and other government entities.
Francistown West Member of Parliament (MP) Ignatius Moswaane criticised the government’s decision last month to not give the food items to intended recipients (especially those negatively affected by COVID-19). He accused the government of wasting public funds after buying food items that were not distributed to intended recipients. Some of the food items were donations from various entities.
Moswaane had even approached court in a bid to force the government to give out food packages to those negatively affected by COVID-19. He would later withdraw his application.
Last Wednesday, Moswaane reiterated that the government failed Batswana whose livelihoods have been disrupted during COVID-19 when it decided not to distribute the food items.