13 Jan 2013

The Rural Development Council (RDC) has been tasked with overseeing that developments are carried out in rural areas, says Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Kgagodi last week, Dr Kedikilwe said the council would work hand in hand with all government departments, parastatals and private organisations that played a role in rural development.

The council, which was initially under the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, was moved to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for effective operation. It would be chaired by the Vice President who will be assisted by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.

The council was expected to contribute towards the government’s poverty eradication initiatives.

On other issues, Vice President Kedikilwe, also Mmadinare MP,  told residents of Kgagodi that the commission of inquiry on the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC)  was established after Batswana complained that BMC was not benefitting cattle farmers as expected.

The commission was appointed by President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama to find out why BMC was facing a lot of challenges and failing to meet its target.

He said the commission would audit BMC’s business proceedings from January 2006 to August 2012, adding that it was suspected that since 2006, the organisation had been rattled with setbacks.

He explained that the commission would find out how the operations of BMC had led to its failure.

Furthermore, he said other functions of the commission such as the technical operation, managerial and board functions would be scrutinised to find out how they impacted on the operations of the organisation.

Dr Kedikilwe added that the commission would also find out if there was any conflict of interest within board members and managerial personnel.

Other aspects that would be looked into, he said, will include finding out  how beef sales were undertaken as well as the challenges experienced.

He said the financial processes that took place in beef sales would also be audited so that government could establish whether BMC’s running costs exceeded the profit made and how best to resolve the situation.

The Vice President also stated that procedures taken to contract private companies to purchase cattle for the BMC would also be investigated to find out if there was any malpractice.

He said the commission was also tasked with reporting to cabinet and Parliament whether feedlots were useful.

In addition, he said the commission was expected to benchmark in other countries that operated the same business as BMC.

Meanwhile, Kgosi Meriti Kgagodi expressed concern that cattle were destroying crops. He urged cattle owners to look after their animals  to avoid conflict with crop farmers.

On other issues, Kgosi Kgagodi lamented that only three out of 11 headmen in his village received remuneration. He requested the government to consider giving salaries to the rest of his headmen, saying that they worked tirelessly to serve residents of Kgagodi. ENDS