Molale denies corruption in ministerial housing
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday December 16, 2016 16:16
Molale told Parliament that due to shortage of housing in Gaborone, some Ministers who had own residences around the city had to vacate to create space for High Court and Industrial Court Judges.
The Minister was responding to a question by Member of Parliament (MP) for Gabane/Mankgodi, Pius Mokgware.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) legislator who asked the question on behalf of Francistown MP Wynter Mmolotsi, who was not present in the House, had wanted to know what motivated the decision to allow Ministers to vacate their institutional houses; whether it is true that Ministers’ houses have been allocated to Judges, and whether the Housing Allowance of P13,500 can now be extended to Judges if they want to vacate these houses, like what applies to Ministers.
In response Molale said that the decision by government to allow some Ministers to vacate their institutional houses was prompted by the rising demand to address Judges’ accommodation needs following the opening of the High Court and Court of Appeal in Gaborone and shortages at the Industrial Court.
“It must however be noted that not all the ministerial houses were surrendered as some houses are still occupied by Ministers. It is indeed true that some of the vacated houses, totalling seven, were allocated to some of the Judges,” Molale confirmed. He also stated that Judges who are not, and cannot be accommodated in institutional housing, are also entitled to the P13,500 housing allowance.
As supplementary, Mokgware asked if these houses were built specifically for the Ministers, what forced the Ministers to vacate the houses and give them to Judges.
He also asked if this could not breed corruption. Molale denied that there could be any form of corruption related to this, saying that everything is done overboard. He said that everything was done in the open. However, Molale said that there is shortage of houses for people of the stature of Ministers and Judges in Gaborone. He alluded that the decision to peg the Housing Allowance at P13,500 was decided after a market research on rentals was conducted.
He highlighted that the research indicated that the rentals for those houses stands at P18,000. He further explained that it has been a long-standing practice to allow Ministers to vacate institutional houses where possible so that they are allocated to Judges.