The Minister of Local Government recently visited Shorobe village in the North-West District in an endeavour to appreciate how his ministry is doing in terms of services rendered to the public. There were issues of concern.

During his welcome remarks, VDC Chairperson, Mr. Ngwanaga availed that their region has been hit by unprecedented water shortages. This he said was made worse by the destruction of the only boreholes by the perennially flooded Thamalakane river.

Other issues included shortage of accommodation and transport which makes officers to commute from as far as Maun, and this compromises service delivery dearly. Transport unavailability compounds the already mess situation, he said.

Residents also shared their concern about the LIMID programme which they said is very slow and tedious to enroll in, a development they said make it quite unpopular with the youth.

In response to their numerous concerns, Honourable Siele appreciated them and shared with them about the economic status of the world. “The world economy has crunched and this has affected our developmental plans quite significantly.

Our diamonds, which are a source of revenue and plays a very leading role in the development of our country, have not been doing well recently, because of the economic downturn alluded to, said Siele. He said once the economy improves, all developments will resume including those you talked about.

Notwithstanding, government is doing all it can to withstand the realities of the recession. The minister said through programmes like Ipelegeng, government is trying to assist those without permanent jobs to put food on the table for their families.

The Minister also talked at length about Children’s Act and advised parents to respect their rights. He said some parents have delegated their responsibility to government and cautioned them saying it is the responsibility of parents to sit and discuss issues of interest with their children first. Government can only intervene when there are problems through social workers and other professional organization.