Topisi hit by high pregnancy rates

CALISTUS KOLANTSHO
Correspondent | Tuesday September 21, 2010 00:00

Veronica Letebejane raised this concern during a Kgotla meeting Serowe North East Member of Parliament (MP) Ndelu Seretse addressed last week.

Letebejane complained that some pregnant women were also refusing to give birth at the hospital in Palapye. She revealed that as a result some births took place in the bush, on donkey carts and that one occurred in front of a local primary school. 'Some babies were discovered in the bush by boys who had gone to collect firewood. It shows that people are still unaware of the dangers posed by the HIV/AIDS scourge and engage in unprotected sex, hence the many pregnancies,' she said.

For his part, Kgosi Keseitse Chakaloba expressed disappointment at people who steal from vehicles that are involved in road accidents along the A1 Highway.

He stated that there are many reports of residents taking goods from vehicles that have overturned near Topisi with the latest being last week when a truck carrying mealie meal tipped over.   He said that instead of assisting the driver, the villagers spirited away the 50kg bags. 'Some people once picked fertilizer bags from a truck that had overturned.

They cooked the fertilizer because they did not know what it was. It was only by the grace of God that they did not eat the stuff or else it would have been a disaster. 

The villagers had also looted cooking oil from a truck that had overturned,' he said.

In his response, MP Seretse and former Defence and Security Minister, said Topisi had been struck by a bad spell and church leaders must pray for the village. 

He observed that residents who 'scavenged' from vehicles involved in road accidents had gone too far and that it was not difficult for them to cut off body parts of the accident victim when they did not find anything of value to take.

'Stop doing such things because one day you will pick poison and die.  The whole village will disappear. This is a challenge to the social workers who must find out what is causing people to behave this way,' he said.

Seretse called upon the police to tackle the matter urgently because it is a major threat.

He also mentioned that giving birth in the bush was a state of mind and could be caused by the victims not being ready to conceive.