Maun Bus Rank To Start Operations In Two Months

CALISTUS KOLANTSHO
Correspondent | Tuesday August 3, 2010 00:00

Deputy council secretary (technical services) Motlogelwa Thuso confirmed in an interview last week that the project is complete and the contractor has handed it over to the council. He explained that initially when the plan for the rank was presented to the full council, it was approved by the councillors but they did not realise that it did not include the terminal building.

'The first phase of the project did not include the terminal building that contains the market stalls, and shelters.  The contractor has done the part that he was told to do and he has now left the site,' he said. Thuso said the council would build the terminal building during District Development Plan (DDP) Seven and at the moment the funds were not available due to the economic downturn. He said the shortage of water in Maun has also had an impact on the project. He stated that the council is now installing a water storage tank. He noted that the rank cannot start operating if toilets are not working properly due to low water pressure.

He said NWDC has also appointed a private company to erect rubbish bins and they have also completed the labelling of routes. He explained that the labelling of the routes and the erection of the water storage tank were not part of the tender and that is why they had to do them in-house. 'The council is also going to build a big shelter for the small businesses but that will not stop the rank from being utilised. We want to avoid having small businesses all over the rank,' he said.

Thuso explained that the council has appointed a task force to monitor the rank when it starts operations. The task force is made up of officers from transport, council by-law, physical planning, the police and the commercial department. He mentioned that they want to make sure that there is proper coordination at the rank.

He said the rank was part of the Maun Development Plan (MDP) Phase One that also included the construction of internal roads and has cost the council P45 million and the projects were done by China Jiangsu International. He said they have only used P43 million against the budget that was set, adding that the projects are still under liability period.  Thuso said Phase Two of MDP has started and it is expected to be completed in November and it is the tarring of 19km of internal roads in Maun.

He observed is a bit behind schedule but the contractor, Tuwana Construction, is pushing hard to meet the deadline. 'I am impressed with the quality of roads that are being done. The contractor has raised them to avoid them from submerging under water during the rainy season. The contractor is being monitored by a team of council engineers and a consultant,' said Thuso.

NWDC Chairman, Tebogo Bethia said it was unfortunate that when the rank plan was presented to them as councillors they did not scrutinise it well to realise that the terminal building was not incorporated. He mentioned that the rank will start operating soon because 'the council has managed to work on the lighting and sewerage systems'.