The maintenance of the aesthetic appeal of major cities and towns in the Republic has been an issue of major contention for many years. This is said in the context, that the City of Francistown (COF) taxi and bus rank is in a deplorable state, as availed by bye-law officers, police and taxi association representatives.
It is in this context that the Botswana Police Service, Bye-law and Environmental Health officers, and Francistown Taxi Association members met and resolved to establish a committee aimed at eradicating the factors that lead to the degradation of the Francistown Bus and Taxi Rank. When quizzed about the reasons as to why the F r a n c i s t o w n Bus and Taxi Rank are in such a deplorable state the Chairman of the Francistown Taxi Association Mr. Matebesi availed that “firstly, our taxi rank was designed to accommodate 37 taxis but to date there are more than double that number.
Furthermore, people have found employment opportunities in washing public transport vehicles at the bus rank and as such this contravenes Bye and environmental laws.” To augment this shocking situation Mr. Matebesi noted that a criminal element also exists in the bus rank in the form of people selling pirated materials such as DVDs and CDs”.
It is in this breathe that the Botswana Police were invited to join the formation of this committee as they play a crucial role in the fighting of all crime in the City of Francistown. It is to this end that Superintendent Magalela-Station Commander COF availed that they have partnered with the Bye Law office to combat the degradation of the environment and to eradicate the selling of pirated goods from the Bus rank.
When responding to questions about what the core functions of the Bye Law office are, Ms. Segomotso Chokwe- Principal Bye Law Technician COF Council availed that the purpose of her unit is to enforce all laws that have been stipulated by the Local Authority.
As such she noted that “the formation of the aforementioned multi-sectoral committee will go a long way in educating the public as to what acts contravene Bye Law policy.” Furthermore, Ms Chokwe noted that this committee is characterized by the involvement of all stakeholders that are affected by the state of the Bus Rank and as such it has the interests of everybody at heart.
It can thus be said that, to ensure the maintenance of the aesthetic appeal of any major city or town, it is imperative that respective Local Authorities take the necessary steps to form committees like in Francistown and as such clean up public spaces such as Bus and Taxi ranks.