26 Nov 2014

Since April, just over 16 000 beneficiaries have been engaged on rotational bases except for recommended able bodied destitute people in Palapye Sub-district.

Briefing councillors during the ongoing Palapye Sub council meeting, Mr Ratsima said the target for this sub district was 2 033 but it increased to 2 043 due to a museum project which engaged 10 beneficiaries for three months.

He said out of the 16 433 people engaged, 12 496 were women whilst 1 450 were men Mr Ratsima briefed councillors that the feeding programme was going well with about P1.8m paid to beneficiaries since the beginning of the programme in 2014/2015.

He said the community had been encouraged through proper consultation to rationalize feeding programme by enrolling more than one supplier and divide the group per number of enrolled suppliers especially in areas where the quota is more than 50.

He said most Village Development Committees had adopted the idea and put it in practice. However Mr Ratsima said Ipelegeng is faced with challenges citing the problem of rising number of able bodied destitute persons hence disadvantaging those on rotational basis.

Procurement of materials through tenders, he said contributed to the delay of implementation and completion of projects as suppliers do not deliver materials on time. Furthermore he said 168 projects were expected to be carried out this financial year at a cost of about P20.1m.

He said of 168 projects, 16 were 100 per cent complete, 70 of them were 50 per cent or less complete whilst 54 of them had not been undertaken yet. He also added that the approved budget for the sub district was about P21.3m of which 60 per cent of it had been disbursed.

For their part councilors decried shortage of tools resulting in Ipelegeng workers idling during working hours. Councilors also called for improvement in the payment of workers to enable them to sustain their families.

They also called for the increased employment of Ipelegeng workers especially in villages where employment opportunities were limited. ENDS