Councillors express fear over BHC 'takeover' of SHHA

Patricia Edwin
Staff Writer | Friday August 10, 2012 00:00

The councillors, who were gathered in Francistown for the Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) 15th National Conference which ended today, gave critical remarks following BHC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Reginald Motswaiso's address. They expressed their fears that their electorate will be victimised when BHC ' unfairly' assumes the regulatory functions of SHHA. The first to speak out was Monarch South Francistown councillor, Ignatius Moswaane, who likened the BHC to a lowlife crook saying there was something it (BHC) is hiding:

'They say they don't mind how much a house costs, as long as the client gets the house. What is going on between the government and BHC that we cannot and should not know? It shows that some things are kept from us. Why would BHC embark on a project without gaining profit?' he queried. He said even if councils were consulted, there was no way they would agree to the change. He said the turnkey project was used to set local authorities up for failure and then have the rug pulled from under their feet.  Councillor Morapedi Selala from Kweneng was equally suspicious of BHC and government's motives saying he wanted to know why only the financial part has been left to the district councils:

'Why not take it all? Why did you leave the difficult part to us and if you do not see SHHA as profit making, why then would you involve yourselves with it? It is a takeover,' he said.  Other councillors from all over Botswana were equally angry and suspicious arguing that if BHC 'took over' the projects, then small contractors would suffer.Motswaiso, was however undeterred as he counter-argued that they would consult councils to help them identify contractors who are registered with PPADB. In his address, Motswaiso tried to address the councillors' fears when he said BHC will only take care of construction and management projects houses, adding that the status quo regarding the financial management  would be maintained and all administrative issues would still be handled by the councils:  'The fact of the matter is that BHC will only be engaged as project managers with the responsibility of seeing to the construction of the SHHA houses as per specifications and costs agreed upon between BHC and government,' he added. He said that there was no reason for BHC to escalate costs of the houses because these are pre-determined and agreed upon with government:

'The administration of SHHA loans will remain under the district councils to ensure that administrative aspects like loan management and allocation criteria are retained under the existing structures,' he said.  Motswaiso further said that the arrangement is that in every financial year, BHC will be given a quota of SHHA houses to be constructed in the various constituencies and locations and a budget for those houses. 'The Ministry of Lands and Housing has also been directed to take necessary steps to capacitate BHC to be in a position to effectively and efficiently play its role. MLH will also be responsible for policy formulation and direction, setting housing standards and provision of financial resources for the various housing projects and programmes.'