24 Oct 2023

Keng residents have been implored to avoid voter trafficking in the upcoming general elections. 

MP for Jwaneng/Mabutsane, Mr Mephato Reatile underscored the need to register to vote at their village in an endeavour to influence local developments.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Keng on October 24, he called on young people to avoid being lured through small incentives to vote in other areas. 

“You should be jealous with your votes to protect the interests of your own village and its developments,” he said.

Additionally, Mr Reatile encouraged them to register in large numbers in the voter registration exercise scheduled for next month. 

He said registration was a gateway to exercising their right to choose the next government.

However, he said he was aware of concerns among constituents that public officers were engaged in the voter registration while there were a lot of unemployed youth.

On other issues, he suggested privatising pre-schools to reduce the burden from the government. 

He said it was not sustainable for government to fund and run pre-schools. Such a move, he noted, would also contribute towards local economic development.

“We are already experiencing acute shortage of teachers’ accommodation and classrooms, and this shows how cumbersome this is for government. 

I encourage local communities to take over such initiatives for effective operations,” he said.

Keng Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Ologetswe Kelebemang requested more classrooms at Keng Primary School to accommodate pre-school pupils. 

“We currently have 39 pupils enrolled for pre-school, but due to shortage of space others were left out,” she said

She further requested additional classroom block for mainstream classes, some of which she said sat outside in the open for their lessons, adding that the school had only four classroom blocks against 14 classes. 

She said the school needed an admin block and additional teachers’ houses so to operate effectively. ends