04 Mar 2013

Selebi Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) finance committee chairperson has decried that the current town budget will affect service delivery in the mining town.

Mr Lekang Mukokomani said during a special full council meeting that sectors such as road and street light maintenance would suffer. He said the council had estimated a budget of P102 million, but  the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development cut the ceiling to P78 million.

Mr Mukokomani said their projections were determined by the demands and needs of the town, saying the budget was cut by 21 per cent which translated to P25 million.

He said the largest share of the cake was awarded to human resources and administration as well as civil and mechanics which got P13 million each.

He said the council should be determined to collect revenue because under current circumstances it was not justifiable for councils to be autonomous if they could not generate revenue for themselves.

He also called for strategic marketing for utilisation of facilities such as the stadium and the Adams Park which could generate revenue for the council.

Commenting on the chairperson’s speech, councillor Godfrey Mbaiwa complained that the public health sector was neglected. He said although the town was tidy, the health sector has been allocated only P7 million which he said was far less.

He said the money was not enough to repair the refuse collection trucks which have broken down.

Councillor Evelyn Kgodungwe said the budget cut would affect education, while Leseding ward councillor, Ms Leungo Mathaio shared the same sentiments that SPTC was failing to collect refuse and suggested to seek assistance from Botswana Defence Force and BCL mine who have resources and capacity. ENDS