Palapye For Industrial Capital?

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Monday August 6, 2007 00:00

 

Some members of parliament disagreed with the motion accusing people from Central District, especially from Serowe/Palapye, of trying to take all developments to their area.  They cited the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), expansion of Morupule Power Station and Mine as major projects that will change the face of Palapye so there is no need for additional projects.

Assistant Minister for Trade and Industry, also MP for Boteti North Lebonaamang Mokalake did not hide his displeasure at the motion, saying the reasons raised by Molefhabangwe are not valid. 
Tabling the motion, Molefhabangwe said 'Palapye has plenty of land and it is near the Morupule Power Station. It is also nearer to the four major dams in the northern part of the country and it will be cheaper to do business there'.

Mokalake argued that the main reason why Botswana does not attract investors is because of poor work ethics, an inadequate skilled workforce, and an inefficient government bureaucracy, among others.

 
He said the reasons advanced by Molefhabangwe are not valid since Palapye is also experiencing a shortage of land.  He said that the bulk of the land in Palapye was leasehold and is owned by Morupule Colliery.  At this juncture the Minister of Communications Science and Technology, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi interjected saying the shortage of land in the Serowe-Palapye sub district has haulted construction of an airport.

Mokalake argued that Palapye underground water is salty. The village gets water from the North-South Carrier that supplies Gaborone.
MP for Selebi-Phikwe West Kavis Kario opposed the motion saying there are other places that have the same characteristics as Palapye.  He said developments should be spread around the country instead of concentrating them in one place.

 
Kario believes that there is no need to debate the motion since Palapye will automatically develop into an industrial capital if more investors show interest in the town.
He said the motion would bind investors and it has the potential to disadvantage other places.  'There is no need to declare any particular area as industrial capital. We must leave things as they are,' he said.

 
The legislator said that Palapye could be developed at a regional but not at a national level.  Kario warned that since there was going to be an expansion of the Morupule coal mine and power station, there was a likelihood of an increase in air pollution that could pose a threat to people's health.

 
He said Selebi-Phikwe should be considered as an industrial capital because it needs to be kept alive even after the likely closure of the mine.
MP for Palapye, Boyce Sebetela, was disappointed at the way Mokalake debated the motion. He said he did not support the motion because Palapye was chosen, adding that he would do the same even if it was a different place.

He said it is international practice that governments invest in long term projects knowing that they will later benefit the whole nation.  Some of the projects, he said, are international hubs for information and communications technology that benefit some countries though they did not get the full support of the public when they started. 
Sebetela cited the Shanghai Province in China that benefits all citizens.  He advised that government should identify specific areas for specific economic activities and develop them.

 
He reminded the house about government's plans 20 years ago to build a railway line to connect Palapye to South Africa and Namibia that he said would be vital for coal exportation.  He said that Botswana coal was in high demand but because of poor roads it was not going to be easy to export it.