Having regained control of the North West District Council (NWDC) in elections held this week, the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has revealed its plans to prioritise implementation of resolutions adopted by the council.
In a media briefing following his re-election NWDC Chairperson, Kebareeditse Ntsogotho indicated that there are resolutions that dates from far back that are still pending.
This he lamented, puts them in a bad image as they appear to be failing to deliver.
“We should not find ourselves failing to explain to councilors about the progress of the actions and resolutions they have adopted because nothing was done as far as their implementation is concerned,” the Chairman complained.
According to him, one of the factors that delays implementation is the delayed approval of such decision by cabinet ministers. He explained that some of the decisions they make have to be communicated with ministries before they are implemented. He however complained that sometimes it takes time before they are given the green light.
“In the case of Mababe which has been a state land with no land allocations are done being the area, we have since through a resolution of this council requested the ministry to come and engage council and the people of Mababe but since then they haven’t come. These are things that affect implementation of decisions,” he complained.
Bojanala Ward Councilor, Luke Motlaleselelo indicated that most projects are affected by litigations which affects implementation. He highlighted that ESP projects in the Okavango region took 3 to 4 years before completion because they were before courts.
“Our suspicion is that there is corruption by the procurement system and adjudication committee because they are established by civil servants and the public without the oversight by councilors,” the councilor argued.
Shortage of funds has also been cited as one of the factors that hinder implementation, adding currently the Maun Administrative Authority has a paltry roads budget of less than P900 000 for 2020/21 financial year. Motlaleselelo stressed that shortage of funds affects project implementation as it sometimes forces them to halt some of their planned projects.
The UDC also indicated that their initial set goals included provision of better education, allocation of land, improved water supply and road infrastructure. Ntsogotho is convinced that as far as education, water and land allocation is concerned they are doing a great job.
He highlighted that they have opened four satellite schools across the district which have helped reduced the distance students travelled to and from school as well as having improved their academic performance. He added that they have also managed to speed up the process of ensuring that Tawana Land Board allocate more plots to residents.
The Chairman has however acknowledged that one area that they are not doing well is issue of roads which are not maintained and full of potholes. Ntsogotho argued that this is caused by numerous factors comprising of litigations, shortage of resources and funds.
