Minister Moroka speaks for Kgalagadi

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Friday February 15, 2008 00:00

Commenting on the budget proposals on Wednesday, the minister said lack of development in the Kgalagadi made it look like it is not in the country.

He urged government to include schools and hospitals for Kgalagadi in National Development Plan 10. 

Moroka further called on government to invest in road infrastructure to boost national tourism. 

He added that competitive citizen owned companies should be given priority in the award of projects. 

Moroka turned to commercial banks, accusing them of charging citizens exorbitant fees for their services. 

He revealed that commercial banks made relatively larger profits in Botswana in the past year than in any other country in the region and attributed this to exorbitant fees.

He regretted that the banks were interested only in giving loans to Batswana to buy consumable goods, rather than long term investments such as housing. 

'It is easier to get a loan for a car than to get the same to buy a plot,' he lamented.  The minister said that Batswana's debt exceeds savings by far.

He called for implementation of civil service reforms such as the performance based reward system (PBRS) to encourage people to work harder and for Botswana to compete globally. 

The Minister for Sports, Youth, and Culture, Moeng Pheto, complained about poor project implementation and lack of roads in his Lentsweletau constituency. 

He pleaded with citizens to take up all available jobs including domestic work, cattle herding, working in gardens and fields to improve their standard of living instead of leaving them to foreigners.

Meanwhile, parliament adopted the budget on Thursday evening without the input of Leader of Opposition, Botswana National Front president, Otsweletse Moupo.