Ipelegeng gives women financial freedom - Tshireletso

NNASARETHA KGAMANYANE
Correspondent | Friday November 25, 2011 00:00

 

At a meeting with Gaborone Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Ipelegeng supervisors at the Civic Centre this week, Tshireletso said although they are disdained by many people, Ipelegeng workers have contributed a lot to the development of Botswana.

She said the city is now clean and safe because of Ipelegeng workers without whom Gaborone would be infested with litter and bushes that thieves and rapists would use as hiding places.

Tshireletso said that Ipelegeng is not only about litter picking and bush clearing because the programme is also used for building classrooms, moulding bricks, maintaining pipes, cleaning culverts and paving streets. She said there are other projects supported by the project, among them Green Scorpions who supervise picking litter in the communities, Ipelegeng Police Volunteers, Ipelegeng Special Constables and anti-crime clusters.

'Although Ipelegeng has done a lot for the development of the communities, we are faced with some challenges,' said Tshireletso.  'Some groups sit under trees when they are expected to be working.

'This is wrong as they cheat other groups who work hard and develop their communities. These people do not only cheat themselves but they also cheat the government.'  She said that some supervisors write names of people who do not even work at Ipelegeng, and those people will be seen only on pay day.  She warned that such people would be arrested for defrauding the government.

In his contribution, Charles Pilediwa of Bophirima VDC said they work hard but earn little.  'Most of us live in Gaborone but we do not have our own yards here. Four hundered pula is not enough to cover our needs. 

We have to pay rent and it is expensive as a house without electricity costs P350.  We also need food to eat and soap to wash.'  He complained that Ipelegeng people are always accused of not performing when in fact it is council employees who do not perform. Pilediwa said litter pickers hired by the council leave the work they are supposed to do to Ipelegeng workers.

Babusi supervisor and VDC member, Patrick Magakwa, said the Minister should ask the Department of Labour and Home Affairsto hire Ipelegeng workers whenever they want labourers because they have experience and have volunteered for years. Mothibedi Afitlhile of Government Ward said that it would be better if councils employed Ipelegeng personnel for cleaning and other jobs that they qualify for.

Tshireletso said council employees who idle and sleep during working hours should be reported. She told Ipelegeng workers that due to the financial crisis, their wages cannot be increased. She encouraged them to work hard because the little they are earning is better than nothing.