ADDRESS BY HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR FOR GABORONE CITY COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR HASKINS NKAIGWA, DELIVERED IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON THE 26TH MARCH 2012 AT 0900 HOURS

Your Honor the Deputy Mayor,
Honorable Councilors,
District Commissioner,
Town Clerk,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I greet and thank you all for coming today.

1.  I am honored to be here with you as we come towards the end of the 2011/2012 financial year. Today marks the second time that I had the pleasure to address you on the state of our city as the  Mayor. I will therefore take this opportunity to reflect back on the current financial year which will be coming to an end this week, as we look forward to and focus on what we have to do in the upcoming financial year.

2.  Firstly, I would like to keep you posted on activities of national interest that have come to pass.

3.  As you may recall, in February this year, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning delivered the National Budget Proposals for the 2012/2013 Financial Year. The speech emphasized that as a nation we ought to operate within a severely constrained budget to satisfy the diverse needs of our society. Further that every part of the government machinery must ensure that the limited resources are utilized effectively and efficiently. Our Mother Ministry; the Ministry of Local Government has been allocated P4.27 Billion for the Recurrent Budget and only P1.18 Billion for the Development vote these will be shared amongst all Local Authorities and the Ministry. We have also noted that the 2012/2013 national priority is on service delivery and maintenance of existing infrastructure while completing ongoing projects.  This implies Ladies and Gentlemen, that we will be implementing ongoing projects only under the Development Budget.  Therefore let us ponder about future developments in this difficult era!

4.  I want to believe that we are all aware that March has been declared the Month of Youth Against AIDS (MYAA). The theme for this year is: “Take Responsibility, Take Action” and Tagline being “Wise up… Be smart, Get Trimmed.’’ This theme is aimed at supporting the national strategy of increasing the uptake of Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) especially among the youth. Let me therefore take this opportunity to implore all men to go for SMC. It is offered for free at Government clinics and the name speaks for its self-it is Safe.

5. As the leadership of the District, we are concerned about the low statistics of males who go for circumcision in the District. We therefore found it fit to hold a Men Sector meeting whereby all men will be invited to express their views, experiences, fears and challenges regarding this initiative after which we expect to chart a way forward regarding this issue. The exact date for this will be announced and I urge all men to attend this important meeting.

6. Still on commemorations, we commemorated the International Women’s Day on the 8th of March 2012. The event honors and appreciates women for their economic, political and social accomplishments. This year, it was commemorated under the theme: “Empower Women-End Hunger and Poverty”. I believe that as a country we are moving towards the right direction even though we still have a lot to do. As A nation we must pay homage to the women folks who have made headways in esteemed positions in almost all spheres of the economy.

7.  Ladies and Gentlemen, we are looking forward to one important event; the commemoration of the International Earth Hour on the Saturday 31st March 2012 from 2030 to 2130 Hours. This is the time when the entire community is sensitized on the effect of harmful emissions on the climate and their long term impact to the environment and the climate. During this hour we are all expected to switch off our lights. I appeal to all of you to sensitize our neighbors and communities about the significance of this hour, we all need to observe it. It is my hope that we take it beyond the hour, we should all make it a way of life in order to preserve our environment.

Council’s Financial Position

8. Ladies and Gentlemen, during my last speech I informed you that our approved recurrent budget for the 2011/2012 financial year was P235, 290, 340.00. Now I am told that part of this RSG amounting to P3, 212, 728.00 has been withdrawn due to vacant posts that were withheld by the Ministry of Local Government. As a result our 2011/2012 recurrent budget has been revised downwards to P232, 077, 612.00. Our recurrent expenditure ladies and gentlemen, stands at P163,   617, 400.00 implying that we spent 71% of the revised budget. This figure should not alarm you because the events of last year resulted in the late awarding of annual tenders hence low expenditure figures ,a scenario that will be avoided in the year ahead. In preparations for our year end, reconciliations of our expenditures and income statements is currently underway. We anticipate that by the end of this financial year we will have exhausted our entire budget. Let me once more echo the sentiments of our colleague, Honourable Chairman of Finance committee that let us strive to achieve more with the little resources at our disposal.

9.  Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2011/2012 financial year was a tough one for the City Council as we had to pay salaries to some employees that were not catered for in the budgeted. These employees were previously under the Department of Water and Waste Water and were not absorbed by Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) upon takeover of Sewerage division. We therefore had to ensure that we utilized funds reserved for other priorities in order to honour their personnel emoluments.

10.  Ladies and Gentlemen, our partnership with two commercial banks- FNBB and Barclays is steadily bearing fruits as our clients have started to pay their bills. We shall continue to commit ourselves as the City Council to publicize this new method of bill payment so as to reach all our clientele. I therefore advise our clients to pay their bills through services offered by these banks in order to avoid traveling long distances at additional expenses to the City Hall. The Banks offer a customer friendly option at limited costs!

11.  Ladies and gentlemen, we encountered some challenges with regard to rates billing. Most of the mails were returned to the City Council due to either wrong or changed postal addresses. In an effort to rescue the situation, we recently had an officer from City of Francistown (COF) on a mission to assist our staff in the Billing process. This was a commendable effort that will augment the technical support from Ministry of Local Government. Let me take this opportunity to request all clients who have changed their postal addresses to report at Rates Office, Civic Centre to update their contact details.

PROGRESS REPORT ON DECEMBER 2011 FULL COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS

12. There has been some commendable progress on the resolutions passed in our December 2011 Full Council.

13. Performance Monitoring Committee
The above committee has been established and is fully functional. The purpose of the committee is to ensure that projects are implemented on time and within budget and also monitor performance of contractors. The Committee visited all Council projects and properties. A report on the visit of such shall be presented to the Committee on which recommendations shall be made to the Full Council.

14. Outdoor Advertising
We are currently working on the Bye-Laws that govern outdoor advertising. These Bye-Laws should be able to empower Council to take action against all illegal billboards. These guidelines Honorable Councilors would also allow Gaborone City Council to generate income from billboards as per the resolution made by Full Council on increased income streams. As the Council we need to create a conducive business environment for investors. The private sector is our partner in development and all decisions made by the Council should always be a win-win situation for both parties. I therefore urge the Management of the City Council to fast track the Bye-Laws’ consultation process so that we do not compromise the continuity of business for those who have already invested in the industry.

15. Gaborone City Council Abattoir
It was resolved in our last Full Council that we enter into Public-Private Partnership for the establishment of our abattoir. It has come to our attention that our old plot for the abattoir can no longer be used for such as it is zoned for light industrial developments. We shall be approaching our Ministry for assistance as it is our mandate as Gaborone City Council to ensure that residents of Gaborone consume whole some meat and its products.

16. Old Naledi Park
With regard to the resolution that the Council conduct an audit at Old Naledi Park, such an Audit is ongoing and the report will be presented in the next Performance Monitoring and Audit Committees meeting in which recommendations will be made during the next quarter.

17. Market Stalls
The City Council Management is currently working on the modalities for outsourcing market stalls to property management companies of such an exercise. As per a resolution passed by the Full Council to evict all those that failed to honor their contractors notices have been given to all such tenants.

18. Recreational Parks
Proposals to outsource some of the Council Recreational Parks are being prepared for presentation to the Adjudication Committee. Outsourcing of such facilities will be done gradually over time. Initially we will outsource facilities such as kiosks and public toilets within such parks and later on outsource the whole park.

19. Parking Spaces
The City Council Management is currently working on proposals to outsource parking spaces in the city. This will help in improving the image of the city and also ensure that we create jobs and generate more income for Gaborone City Council.

20. Public Toilets
Tenders are currently being prepared for the outsourcing of such facilities. I encourage all Ward Development Committees and the Youth to participate in this process.

21. Stakeholder Engagement
In attainment of our vision and mission, my office continues to engage and have consultative meetings with all key stakeholders. We have started addressing Kgotla meetings as promised and the feedback we are getting from the community will help us to come with a way forward to improve their quality of life.

22. We intend to hold a breakfast meeting in April for all Chief Executive Officers of Commercial Banks, parastatals and the private sector through BOCCIM. The purpose of such meeting will be to share ideas and expertise on how we can join hands together to develop the city. We need to explore such avenues especially in this era of economic melt down.

23. Still on consultation with key stakeholders we made a courtesy call to Honorable Members of Parliament (MPs) for Gaborone. The purpose of the call was to appraise our MP’s on progress made and the challenges we are currently facing. It is our believe that we need more voices to lobby Government to address the challenges we are currently facing in the city. Unfortunately only 2 MP’s-Honorable Botsalo Ntuane and Honorable Dumelang Saleshando managed to attend the meeting. 

I would like to thank the 2 Honorable Members for finding it fit to meet my delegation. The consultative meeting was very fruitful as we shared some ideas and experiences on how we can develop our city.

24. Communication and Publicity
We are making some strides to improve communication link between Staff, Councilors and the Community. Let me encourage all those Councilors who have not yet registered for emails to do so as soon as possible. Partitioning of the an office at Tsholofelo Service Center is nearing completion therefore you should be able o start using the internet frequently and receiving your emails. As promised an in-house training course shall be conducted to enhance your computer skills.

25. A Facebook page has been set up for the Office of the Mayor and we have started receiving feedback from the community through such service. The Mayor’s Speech can also be downloaded both on Government portal and Facebook. As promised, we continue to hold press conferences to update residents of Gaborone on progress made and challenges we are facing. A press conference was held by my office on the 8th March 2012 in an effort to disseminate information to our customers and stakeholders.

26. Registry for Council Queries
A registry has been established in the Mayor’s office for Councilors to register all queries from their respective wards. Some of the Councilors have started using the registry and progress is being made. The intention of the registry is to ensure that we track progress on implementation of such queries by Heads of Departments and also ensure that the Council resources are distributed equitably without any favoritism. I urge all Councilors to use the registry as it will help us to track progress and challenges we are having in various wards.

27. Lastly, it must be noted that some of the resolutions are yet to be presented to the respective Committees for adoption. We hope the Council Management will fast track this process.

Achievements and Challenges

28.  Ladies and Gentlemen, last year was a truly significant year for our city. We achieved a lot in terms of development projects. We started the financial year with the completion of one of our biggest project in the city; the Tsholofelo Extension Infrastructure project. The serviced land and plots were handed over to the Ministry of Lands for allocation. It is my hope that the Ministry will expedite the process of allocation of plots in the area so as to alleviate the shortage of residential plots in the City.

29.  Still on the achievements Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to inform you that despite all the challenges, the Upgrading of the Old Naledi Infrastructure Project is finally complete and has been handed over to the Council. As we speak, residents of Old Naledi are reaping the benefits of the project as they have started using the tarred roads and some have started connecting to the water lines. A grace period of 6 months beginning 1st April 2012 will be given to allow people to connect water, after which the public standpipes will be permanently disconnected. Let me once more take this time to advice the residents of Old Naledi to take care of these services and fully utilize them to improve their living standards as this was the intention of this project. Plans are underway for the Council to officially hand over this project to its beneficiaries.

30.  Furthermore, we have seen the physical growth throughout our city mainly by private sector. Our Central Business Development (CBD) continued to take shape judging by the structures adorning the Phase II skyline. Shopping complexes have also been developed around the city and they are now operational. It is my hope that these developments continue adding value to the city as well as to our income base.

2011 School Performance

31.  As you are aware, generally students performed badly in their examinations last year nationwide. Just to give you a synopsis with regard to the schools in Gaborone, the target for the Primary Schools was 80% pass but we only had 10 out of the 29 schools meeting this target. Let me however congratulate our 2 Primary schools of Masa and Tsogang, they did a brilliantly as they both scored the best overall pass of 94% each. We however have 2 Primary schools of Tshwaragano and Boitumelo which performed badly. I implore them to strive for better results this year.

32.  Moving to the Junior Secondary Schools, the national target was 83%, only 3 schools in Gaborone failed to meet this target. Nanogang Junior Secondary School was the best among the Junior Schools of Gaborone with a pass rate of 96.39%. Let me also congratulate the school for the good performance.

33.  Lastly, in the Senior Secondary Schools category Naledi Senior Secondary School was the best school in the whole country. It has done very well both in terms of quality and quantity. I urge them to keep up the good work. The other 2 schools in Gaborone performed badly; I therefore encourage them to improve on their performance and emulate Naledi Secondary. It takes the commitment of the student, teacher and parent to produce better results. Let us all work together for the future of our children.

Social Welfare and Community Development

34.  The Council currently has 2,545 beneficiaries of which 1,732 are Orphans, 231 are destitute persons, 498 are needy students, 50 Children in Need of Care and 34 Community Home Based Care clients. Most of these beneficiaries receive their dues monthly through the coupon system except for the Children in Need of Care, Needy Students and newly registered beneficiaries who receive their monthly dues through a tender while waiting to be captured under the coupon system.

Rehabilitation Programmes

35. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are committed to promoting local economic development by assisting the underprivileged members of the society to start income generating projects. We currently have 5 rehabilitation projects of Welding & Fabrication, Babusi Bakery, Sewing, Vegetable garden and Catering.

36.  The Welding and Fabrication project is operated by 2 beneficiaries at Lesedi Community Hall. It has since registered with the Registrar of Companies. The beneficiaries lack entrepreneurial skills however Council plans to train them on the requisite business skills and funds permitting a generator will be procured since they require a power source at callout jobs.

37.  The Babusi project is also doing well with an annual turnover of P72, 413 recorded last year. A total of 15 destitute persons and graduated orphans are benefiting from the project. It is supplying fresh bread to 14 Primary Schools of Gaborone City Council together with individuals.

38.  The other project of sewing is done at 3 locations of Tsholofelo, Old Naledi and Gaborone West Community Halls of which a total of 30 people are benefiting. This project commenced in January 2011 and is expected to end in April 2012 after which the trainees would have been tested and certified at Madirelo Training and Testing Centre. To date, 4 beneficiaries from Tsholofelo Community Hall have been tested at Madirelo Testing and Training Centre and are awaiting their results.

39.  We also have the Vegetable Garden project at Tsholofelo Community Hall. 9 able bodied destitute persons are benefiting from the project. The beneficiaries are being assisted with technical support by Technical Officers from the Ministry of Agriculture.

40.  Lastly is the catering project at Lesedi Community Hall. This project initially engaged 3 beneficiaries but 2 deserted the project. The remaining beneficiary has since occupied a market stall at BBS. This beneficiary has been engaged by the City Council to cater in some workshops. The process of mobilizing another group of beneficiaries is ongoing.

41.  Moving on to the Ward Development Committees (WDC’S) Ladies and Gentlemen all the 32 Ward Development Committees in Gaborone  have been re-elected. Furthermore, we have taken heed of the WDC’s challenge of unavailability of land to undertake their community projects. As such we have profiled a number of unused open spaces identified by the Ward Development Committee. This will be forwarded to the Ministry of Lands and Housing for possible change of land use after scrutiny by the Council structures.

42.  Now, let me update on the implementation of the alternative packages for poverty eradication. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am informed that this initiative is aimed at sustainable economic development through the establishment of micro and small enterprises to eradicate poverty. It also promotes economic empowerment among the less privileged community members. So far we trained extension staff working at grass root level on the guidelines of the program as well as 50 potential beneficiaries on business management. We are currently preparing project budgets that will pave way for project funding.

Construction of Destitute Houses

43.  Ladies and Gentlemen, The Ministry of Local Government has allocated P627, 200.00 for the construction of 7 houses for destitute persons in Gaborone. The challenge that we are facing is that most of the destitute persons do not own plots in Gaborone. Only 4 plots are available and the tender for the construction of houses in these plots is still at vetting stage.

44.  Let me also show my appreciation to the Office of the President, Teachers-Social Welfare Support Committee and Department of Transport & Gaborone West Police for donating houses to our destitute persons. This is the spirit that we should all become accustomed to; we all need to assist the less privileged members of our society.

Self Help Housing Programme

45.  Ladies and Gentlemen, through this programme, we continue to offer our clients with housing assistance. During the 2011/2012 financial year, we assisted 27 clients with Building Material Loans. For the upcoming financial year, we have been given a ceiling of P1, 575, 000.00 by the Ministry of Lands and Housing we shall communicate the number of clients assisted as we complete the processing of applications/requests

Turnkey Programme

46. The year 2011/2012 marked the commencement of the implementation of the Turnkey programme in Gaborone. 8 projects were implemented and of these, 7 are complete while 1 is at completion stage. We believe we shall use the lessons learnt from the implementation of these projects to successfully implement the programme in the new financial year.

Cleanliness of the city

47.  Ladies and Gentlemen, Gaborone in the past had some challenges with regard to this issue; this however has improved since December 2011. This was made possible by the initiatives that we undertook - we engaged temporary employees from the Ipelegeng Programme to carry out litter picking in the city. We also dispatched small Council vehicles to collect plastic bags mostly along the streets and major roads.

48. Let me also appreciate the other activities which form part of the Greater Gaborone Cleanliness Initiative that were carried out with the intention of keeping our city clean. We conducted some anti-litter blitz operations which were conducted after hours to apprehend and fine those who litter the city. Let me also express my gratitude to the communities, business communities and various institutions that together with the City Council mounted clean up campaigns to ensure that our surroundings are kept clean. Let us all ensure that we keep our surroundings clean at all times for the benefit of our health.

49. Ladies and Gentlemen, a delegation of 5 people from our Council went to the Vasteras Municipality in Sweden to explore possible areas of partnership on waste management and other related themes. This serves as a follow up to a visit made by the delegation from the Vasteras Municipality to our city late last year. A detailed report on the outcome of the visit will be availed to you.

Relocation of Vacuum Tanker Services

50.  Let me inform this honorable house that effective 1st April 2012, all vacuum tanker services will be relocated to Water Utilities Corporation (WUC). This includes the emptying of pit latrines, septic tanks, conservancy tanks and cesspools. It is our intention to clear the remaining backlog of 300 requests before handing over the services to WUC. I therefore implore you to inform members of the community about this change so that the transition process is devoid of hiccups.

Internal Roads

51.  Ladies and Gentlemen, last year we talked about the need to re-gravel roads in the SHHA areas. Today we completed gravelling of SHHA roads at Ledumang, White City, Bontleng and Gaborone West Phase I. We also paved some roads at Extension 16 and White City. It is our intention to continue paving roads during the coming financial year.

52. Furthermore, Ladies and Gentlemen, I reported in my last speech that we intend to gravel the Limpopo road extension to Phakalane. The tender for this project has been awarded and we hope that construction will resume very soon.

Upgrading of the Gaborone Sewer Network Project

53.  This is one of the projects implemented by the Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control (DWMPC) with the aim of improving the sanitation conditions in the city. The project is slightly behind schedule with overall progress at 72.8% against the 89.4% programmed.
In addition to the high water table that was reported during our last update, the other challenge for the project is the collapsible soils due to high moisture content in the areas of operation. In order to rectify and cover for lost time, the contractor has increased the working teams in the SHHA areas and they have also resorted to the use of supporting foam to contain the collapsible soils.

Upgrading of the Gaborone Sewage Treatment Works

54.  This project is located at the Glen Valley treatment plant area and it entails the expansion of the current 40 mega litters by another 50 mega litters capacity. It includes the construction of internal roads, drains, primary sludge pipes, settling tanks and sludge digesters. It was implemented in two phases I and II. Phase I is complete and was handed over to Water Utilities Corporation. Phase II is progressing well without any challenges, with overall progress at 46% against 39.6% programmed.

 Ipelegeng

55.  Ladies and Gentlemen, we undertook a total of 152 projects through the Ipelegeng Programme during this financial year. Out of the 152 projects, 22 are complete and 130 are ongoing. A total of 21 266 people of which 16 825 are females and 4 441 are males have been engaged. Out of the P9, 436, 562.00 that was disbursed to the Council, we have already spent P8, 930, 937.52. We are experiencing challenges of not meeting the employment quota for Gaborone because some beneficiaries are leaving the programme citing low wages and some are going for greener pastures. In order to alleviate this challenge of failure to meet the targeted monthly employment, we are sourcing workers from the surrounding villages of Gabane and Tsolamosese so that implementation of public works can be achieved.

56. Still on the Ipelegeng Programme Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to inform you that preparation for the implementation of the 2012/2013 programme is ongoing. Beginning 1st April 2012, the programme will have a slight change. A new component of feeding of beneficiaries will be introduced into the programme. The Government observed that the beneficiaries working in projects such as bush clearing, vegetation control and crime prevention patrols do not have outlets where they could purchase food while at work especially at villages hence the introduction of the feeding component to the programme. The provision of P2.50 per person per day will be used.

OTHER CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD

57. Non Conformity to Building Control Codes and Regulation
It has come to our realization that some residents of Gaborone are building structure without building and planning permissions. This indeed is worrisome and also dangerous to residents as some buildings might not meet the standards. Let me take this moment to encourage residents of Gaborone to apply for building and planning permission before starting construction. There is also a problem of unplastered boundary walls facing the street. The walls look untidy and this really degrades the image of the city. The relevant authorities are called upon to take punitive action against the perpetrators; this scenario defaces our City thus killing the tourism potential.

58. Informal Sector
With the increase in unemployment and rural-urban migration, this sector poses a greater challenge to Gaborone City Council. We cannot afford to evict street vendors as they are selling to make a living. We need to come up with strategies on how best we can co-exist with this sector. Maybe we should consider licensing them within their areas of operation and form committees that will ensure that the environment they are in is always kept clean. Honorable Councilors as we debate some of these issues please come up with ideas that could also assist in regulating and regularizing the sector for peaceful co-existence.

Traffic Congestion in the city
59. With the continuous increase of vehicles especially second hand imported cars, traffic congestions will remain a huge problem for us.. We hope the Greater Gaborone Transport Modal Study will be able to address traffic congestion in the city. The Government should start cultivating a culture for cycling as opposed to motor vehicles. This can be done by introducing a subject on climate change at Primary school level and also enhance public education and awareness campaigns on climate change. Currently the Department of Roads in consultation with the Greater Gaborone Transport Modal Study Consultats are evaluating the Expression of Interest bids that would offer short to medium terms solution to traffic Congestion in the City . We hope that they expedite the process so as to kick start implementation. The progress in this regard will be communicated.

60. Burial Societies
Let me take this moment Honorable Councilors to urge you to encourage your constituents to form burial societies. It is mostly expected that Honorable Councilors should provide during funerals and to deal with such expectations lets encourage our constituents to register such societies. There are 2 mistakes one can make along the road to truth, not going all the way and not starting.

61.  With regard to cemeteries Honorable Councilors you must be aware that our Block 5 and Broadhurst cemeteries are almost full. We cannot continue requesting land for cemeteries as we no longer have land in Gaborone. Though we have been given a plot in Tsholofelo Extension near Glen Valley for our next cemetery we need to encourage our people to consider their home villages for burials. Most of the residents in Gaborone have home villages and we should encourage them to take their relatives back home for burials.

62. Local Government
We shall continue to advocate for the autonomy of Local Authorities. There is need to have autonomous Local Government structures so as to improve service delivery and promote full accountability. The only way we can achieve on delivering people centered developments is by empowering Local Authorities. Gone are the days of having ceremonial Mayors and Council Chairpersons. Lack of full authority de-motivates those who had a vision on how they can improve the livelihoods of their communities. We need full control over resources and how we can prioritize them to deliver on the expectations of our communities. In toady’s world where people pay rates and various levies, it gives them an expectation that there shall be better roads, street lighting, storm water drainage and many more services.

63. Calling for the independence of Local Government structures does not mean that Central Government should stop funding Local Authorities. This is a process that needs Central Government to establish an enabling environment for self sustenance. In other countries rates payments is not an issue as it is linked to other services like water and electricity. Failure to pay rates leads to discontinuation of supply of electricity or water. This therefore ensures compliance and improved liquidity of the Municipality.
 
64. Still on Local Government, we shall continue to lobby Government to improve the working conditions for Councils. There is need to review salaries and allowances for Councilors so as to be more attractive to retain and attract professionals. Getting young professionals to join the field of politics will help bring new ideas on how we can develop our country.

65. The Government should also consider a review of allowances of Ward Development Committees. The allowances are so small and they are only allowed to claim for one meeting. This compromises the effectiveness and efficiency of Ward Development Committees as a key structure that is tasked for developments of the wards.

66. We also advocate that there should be a special dispensation for the two cities of the country when it comes to allocation of the budget. When funds are allocated for the Development Budget there should be a special fund for the development of the cities. Gaborone as the capital city of the country is the face of the country housing the head of state, all embassies, the international community/businesses and many more. When investors come to Botswana their first place of resident is Gaborone and for them to find poor road infrastructure, dark streets, lack of storm water drainage, pot holes, dysfunctional traffic lights, failure to collect waste on time leaves a lot to be desired hence the need for a special development budget yearly to upkeep the standards of the city.

67. The misunderstanding between government and workers unions should end. Government cannot afford to continue fighting unions as this is impacting on the livelihoods of Batswana. Government continues to operate with de-motivated laborforce and this will not improve until when the Government improves the working conditions of its employees. A decision to make teachers essential services is not producing any good results at all. Continued failure by the Government to reverse the decision will have a negative effect in the future of our kids. When the Government says there is no money, its actions should be able to show that indeed there is no money so that the workers can have trust on the Government. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

68.   Let me take this opportunity to inform you that we will be holding the Gaborone District Poverty Eradication Pitso on the 30th March 2012. The purpose of the Pitso will be to educate residents of Gaborone about poverty eradication programmes and strategies implemented in the district. I urge you Honorable Councilors to publicize this event in your respective wards as well as to advice your electorates to attend so that they can get first hand information that they can use to improve their living conditions. 

69.  The other upcoming and important event for our city is the Silver Jubilee. After being postponed from last year, we have finally decided to commemorate the event in 28th July 2012 and preparations are ongoing. Lets all contribute towards this event in anyway possible so as to make it a success.

70. Gaborone City Council will be hosting the National BLLASA games for Councils and Land Boards during the first weekend of April 2012. I encourage you Honorable Concillors to give them all the support. Let me thank BeMobile for playing a key role in sponsoring the games. 

71. Before I conclude my remarks, let me announce to you, Ladies and Gentlemen that we have formed a wellness programme aimed at improving staff welfare and productivity at work. This programme is open to all employees of the Council. I therefore encourage you Honorable Councilors and staff to join this wellness programme to improve your health and enhance productivity.

I THANK YOU ALL

PULA.