Jwaneng approves vendor shelters under Constituency Fund
Lebogang Baingapi | Thursday March 9, 2017 15:37
Under the Fund, Jwaneng received a share of close to P5 million with the other half going to Mabutsane District, which is within the constituency. The vendor shelters will accommodate members of the informal sector, which has grown significantly with the growth of the town’s commercial and service sectors.
The larger numbers have caused conflicts among vendors as well as proprietors of formal businesses, while complaints have been made about the town’s aesthetics being badly affected. According to proposals from the Ward Development Committee (WDC), the types of shelters currently used by vendors in the town “do not blend well” with the image it seeks to portray. “The shelters will therefore provide quality standard structures in an approved area while WDC will generate income through leasing and the project will be under the custody of Umbrella Development Committee,” the proposal reads.
The WDC also intends to use part of the funds to erect market stalls for P2.5 million which it expects to ease the shortage of operational space which has hampered uptake of government funded programmes such as the Youth Development Fund.
The WDC also intends to establish a curio shop as a stopover for travellers who use the Trans-Kalahari A2 highway as well as an urban centre for arts and crafts, which will promote and preserve culture in the locality.
Another community project already given the thumbs-up is an outdoor public gym worth more than P417,000. The facility is designed to tackle physical inactivity and will be built with tough, weatherproof material.
Specially elected councillor, Benjamin Bakwena said the Council had approved the proposed projects, which also include an LA 2 house at Masa-a-sele ward, which will generate income for the WDC.
He said the Constituency Development Fund purely stands to empower communities with sustainable projects, which will make money for them. “I would have wanted the stalls to be suspended, as they are a council project, but the decision to release the project to WDC is also a beneficial move to the entrepreneurs.
“The Council, as stakeholders, will now be hands on through mobilisation and buying materials for the projects to avoid delays,” he said. Ngami ward Councillor Bankinyana Montsiemang also said the space and design for the market stalls had already been secured.
“The informal sector remains vital to our diamond-rich town beyond the mine closure as it will still sustain us. The market stalls will be permanent structures while temporary yet durable structures will be used to build vendor shelters.
“We grabbed an opportunity to approve the proposed projects because they have been deferred for many years due to financial constraints,” he explained.