Sub-District leadership petition Mokaila
Pini Bothoko | Friday March 31, 2017 16:37
This road which starts from Francistown and ends at Nata has been allowed to deteriorate to such a bad state that it makes prospective residents and investors to lose interest and turn around the moment they drive on this road. It is one of the gateways to the tourism areas of Maun and Kasane.
Sadly, this is not the only road that has turned into a nightmare to road users, as many roads in the northern part of Botswana are in a dilapidated state and have turned into a death trap especially due to potholes. After many years of neglect, some potholes have developed into craters, especially during the rainy season, causing inconveniences and accidents, some fatal.
Every driver has an unpleasant story to tell after driving in most of the roads in the north. Drivers are often left swearing after their cars have ploughed into deep potholes, or when a seemingly smooth ride abruptly turns bumpy and rough as a result of dilapidated roads.
Occasionally, scores of people die on the roads, partly as a result of the state of the roads, a situation often worsened by potholes and the general poor state of the narrow and perilous A3 highway.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications, which is tasked with maintaining the country’s road network has not been up to grips with the situation as it has done a little to fix the country’s roads despite its energetic revenue collection drive. This no longer falls well in the ears of many as on Tuesday a delegation from Tutume Sub- District knocked into Mokaila’s office to voice out their concerns about this road.
In an interview with Mmegi, the head of the delegation also the chairperson of Tutume Sub-District Council, Ishmael Mokgethi said the road is very old and it should be appreciated that maintaining an old asset is expensive.
He stated that the road was constructed decades ago, yet the lifespan of a road is 20 years.
“This means almost the entire road now requires rehabilitation and not only the routine maintenance being done now. Even motorists are not convinced that the ministry is doing much,” Mokgethi said.
Mokgethi said the roads are in a bad state and one cannot believe such roads could be found in Botswana. He said residents are not pleased with the condition of the road and thus doubting their leaders as well as accusing them of failing to bring developments to their areas.
“Residents are unhappy that government is not doing much to ensure that the roads are upgraded and maintained,” he said. Mokgethi expressed the need for the road to be attended to with immediate effect before its state gets more hazardous. “Part of this road is currently closed at Zoroga village due to the recent floods. The floods have completely destroyed the road. I fear that the time the water completely drains the road will be completely wrecked,” Mokgethi said. He said that the closure of the road has impacted negatively on businesses like lodges, guesthouses, restaurants, to mention but a few who have been benefiting business from travellers using this road to other destinations.
“Travellers are currently using A30 road (Francistown/Orapa road) to Maun and Kasane something that has impacted badly on businesses situated along this road. This road needs rehabilitation because the patching they are doing collapses in a short space of time. Infact it makes the situation even worse.” Mokgethi said.
He was disappointed by the minister’s answer because he told them that the rehabilitation of the road was not included under NDP 11.
“The fact that this road is not part of developments to be carried out under NDP 11 worries us looking at its current condition. We now fear for lives of motorists along this road,” Mokgethi said. Mokgethi stated that the minister told them that they are faced with financial constraints hence the road cannot be rehabilitated in the near future.
“He (Mokaila) rather promised to look into the matter and find other ways towards the maintenance of the affected parts of the road,” Mokgethi said.
For his part, Anthony Chebani, Nshakanzhogwe village councilor who was part of the delegation said the state of the road is giving the leaderships sleepless nights.
He disclosed that their electorates are unhappy about the state of the roads in their villages and have started to doubt them as their leadership.
“The dejected residents raised a worry that they have voted us, the ruling party, with large numbers but our party has abandoned them and mostly concentrating on developing the southern part of the country,” said Chebane.
Reached for a comment Mokaila refused to comment on the matter referring queries to his ministry’s spokesperson, Oteng Mokowe.
“No, I cannot comment on this matter. Talk to Mokowe; he was part of the meeting as well,” briefly replied Mokaila in a telephone interview.
The minister’s spokesperson failed to respond to our inquiries at press time, as he was not answering his mobile phone.
Recently in Parliament, the Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research and Science Technology Fidelis Molao also raised his displeasure over the state of many roads in his area especially the state of A3 road that passes in most of the villages in his constituency.
Molao also invited Mokaila to visit his constituency to see the state of the ‘holes’ that they are using as roads in his constituency.