CBD mall investors regroup after EIA delay
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Ground breaking for the mall was done in 2013
The multi-million-Pula complex is funded by Smart partnership, a consortium of high profile Batswana businesspeople.
According to one of the Smart Partnership directors, Terence Dambe, the investors are taking stock and readjusting the project’s scope after construction was halted by environmental authorities due to the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the project.
Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...