Mabutsane exceeds ESP budget

Lebogang Baingapi | Friday February 24, 2017 17:24

The council has since requested the release of over P9 million from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to complete their intended projects.

Briefing councillors during a full council meeting on Tuesday in Mabutsane, the council Chairperson, Kgopolo Ramosesane implored the members to ensure strict financial measures to ensure that the intended projects were completed on time and within budget.

ESP was launched last year with an intention to reduce backlog of projects and create employment for communities. Currently, the sub council has managed to complete nine projects out of the intended 12. The remaining three, which is Sekoma-Khonkhwa-Betesankwe packaged project, semi-detached house at Betesankwe and tribal office at Sese village, are expected to be completed through funds from the Ministry.

On a related matter, Ramosesane revealed that the council has failed to generate over P1.4 million, collecting only close to P800,000 during the 2016/17 financial year. Ramosesane called on the councillors to come up with new avenues of sourcing funds to augment their re-current budget.

Councillor for Khakhea, Kelatlhilwe Paraffin decried a compressed and tight budget that forces them to act on strict majors under a poverty stricken constituency. She said their council covers mostly small villages and settlements and they are tasked to administer the Rural Area Development Programme (RADP) among other poverty eradication programmes.

Paraffin was of the view that projects such as ESP should be allocated a fat budget to develop the lives of the rural dwellers.

“We were told that allocation of budget is determined by the needs of the community not the population. I therefore request that the needs of our community be given priority and government programmes should hasten to arrive in our district,” she said.

Another councillor, Case Lebotso of Sekoma highlighted that a strict budget limit Government initiatives to reach communities on time. He said the Livestock Management and Infrastructure Development (LIMID) programme has also been affected, as most of the beneficiaries did not receive all their stock. He however commended that most the ESP projects for the 2016/17 has been completed.