15 Aug 2019

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr France Van Der Westhuizen has called for those contesting for political office in the upcoming general elections to do so with integrity and Botho to uphold the peace and tranquility that Botswana is known for.

Speaking in kgotla meetings held at various villages of Bokspits, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek, Struizendam, (BORAVAST) on Tuesday and Wednesday,

Minister Van Der Westhuizen said Botswana’s democratic ethos were hinged on Botho and consultation, hence the need to continue to preserve peace that Batswana had enjoyed since 1966.

He said Botswana was heading for the 2019 general election,  thus it was critical for political opponents to respect one another in campaigns. “We are one nation, let the election not divide us. There should not be any underhand tactics to try and gain power. Let there be no violence,” he said.

Minister Van Der Westhuizen,  who has been a politician for 15 years, having served as a councillor and as MP, thanked the people for the support they accorded him and those who challenged him, which challenge he said was healthy competition, which brought about positive results during his term as Kgalagadi South MP.

He stated that the 11th Parliament had passed bills to ease lives of Batswana by bringing changes to existing policies and programmes. He said  that the world was moving towards the fourth industrial revolution and Botswana should not be left behind as the sitting President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was driving Batswana towards a knowledge based economy.

This, he said, was a positive move in the development of the country and development of the people.

He said this drive brought about changes that were passed in the form of bills in the last Parliament sitting.
One such bill, he said was the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) Bill, which repealed the BMC monopoly in order to grow the beef industry.

Thus, in the just ended Parliament sitting, a bill was passed to register BMC as a private company to cub monopoly as the act had been protecting the

BMC to be the sole beef exporter. This, he said, negatively affected the business, hence the bill had been passed to allow other players to bring about efficiencies in the running of the beef industry.

Another issue, he said, was the lifting of the hunting ban. He said time had come for the hunting ban to be effected to deal with issues of human/wildlife conflict as people were being killed by animals and destroyed crops.

The development, he said, would control the elephants population, especially in the northern region.

Furthermore, he said, land policy was amended to allow citizens to be issued with one residential plot at an area of their choice in a state land and in a tribal land.
He said to ensure efficient use of ploughing fields, flexible land use patterns had been approved to ensure ease of doing business.

On education development, he said feeding rations had been improved for pre-school and primary school to include breakfast.

Thus he said the meals shall include fruits, which shall be supplied by locals, hence economically empowering them.

Ms Elizabeth Taylor at Bokspits appreciated Mr Van Der Westhuizen for having been the first MP and cabinet minister from their area, which she said had placed their village on the map.

She prayed for peace in the upcoming election, adding that the ‘silly season mudslinging should not tear the nation apart’

“May the future be good and be full of grace for us,” she said.

Struizendam Kgosi Isaac Titus appreciated the minister for his time in office and said  he needed more time to bring about developments in their area.

He said the gravel road stretch from Bokspits to Struizendam needed to be tarred to create a conducive environment for investors in the village.

He also called for government to move swiftly to resuscitate Mabuasehube cross border transfrontier park boundary fence as Botswana was losing wildlife to neighbouring countries during the months of July and August every year.

Mr Gehardus Esterhuizen also called for government officials to work more on bringing services to the people in remote areas collectively.

He said it was important for government officers to come to villages situated miles away from services as it was expensive to travel to Tsabong to fill forms and come back and wait again for approval. ENDS