The Gaborone City Council (GCC) has announced that each Ward Development Committee (WDC) has been allocated a sum of P10,000 for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
This was revealed by the city’s acting mayor, Oduetse Tautona during a recent full council meeting. The Independence Day festivities are scheduled for next Saturday, marking the country's 57 years of independence.
"These funds are meant to augment what the communities have raised for the procurement of the needed refreshments. It is still expected that through the spirit of self-reliance, communities contribute towards such events," he explained.
"On the other hand, Ward Development Committees are not expected to spend funds from their accounts that are meant for community development." Tautona encouraged WDCs to engage in fundraising activities as part of their preparations for Independence Day and urged councillors to collaborate with WDCs to ensure the success of the celebrations.
Additionally, Tautona reported that five Ward Development Committees, whose terms had expired, have successfully elected new members. These newly elected committees underwent training from August 22 to 24.
“The training which was designed to build capacity on areas such as financial management, audit, corruption and enterprise risk management, was also extended to councillors and dikgosi for the affected areas,” he said. Shifting to health-related matters, the acting mayor expressed concern over the first suspected cases of Mumps recorded in the district in June 2023.
These cases primarily affected school-going children, with 63 suspected cases reported, 25 of which have been laboratory-confirmed. "The modes of transmission are person-to-person through respiratory droplets as well as direct contact with the saliva of an infected person,” he said. To prevent rapid spread, Tautona urged the public to ensure that children do not share food items, avoid overcrowding in schools and isolate symptomatic children at home while seeking medical advice. On a positive note, Tautona shared the progress regarding Maruapula Clinic. Construction works are practically complete, and efforts are underway to procure furniture and medical equipment.
The clinic is expected to become operational in October 2023, contributing to enhanced healthcare services in the community.
