Khama's project will make people poorer - Councillors

CALISTUS KOLANTSHO
Correspondent | Monday January 17, 2011 00:00

Botshabelo West councillor, Kosy Mashaba, argues that most of the yards owned by the beneficiaries of the project in that ward are unfenced and they do not have water.  Speaking at a special full council meeting last week, Matshaba said even those who have taps in their yards have high water bills. He called for the removal of Value Added Tax from water to make it cheaper.

Mashaba also said that there is no space in most yards in Selebi-Phikwe to engage in any project to alleviate poverty. For his part, Botshabelo Central councillor, Molefe Molathegi, pointed out that most people who are benefiting from the backyard gardening project that was launched last year do not have water in their yards.

He said they are not able to take care of the seedlings that they were given. 'Their yards are unfenced and livestock that is always roaming the streets has destroyed the plants. The project has many challenges. SPEDU office that was spearheading that project has also failed to monitor it,' he said.

Molathegi said even if the beneficiaries manage to harvest, they will not have the market for their products because there is no support from the big supermarkets in Selebi-Phikwe. Selebi-Phikwe Town Council social and community welfare officer, Jenifer Thekiso, told the councilors that the councils have been tasked to come up with projects that can assist people to help themselves. She said there is nobody who can choose to live in poverty.

She works with destitutes and she knows how they feel, adding that when one lives in poverty they cannot think straight. She called upon the councillors to assist in coming up with income generating projects.

'Back yard gardening is one of the strategies. It should not just be about growing vegetables but it can also include other things like poultry and bee keeping. We must come up with projects that are tangible,' she said.

Thekiso siad that people with disabilities must also be included to enable them to come up with projects that they can manage. She admitted that it was true that there was no follow up after people were given seedlings, adding that a committee must be formed to make follow ups and see that projects bear fruit.