One of the new local authorities in the country, Chobe District Council, has been accused of reckless and wasteful expenditure.  The Council reportedly spent more than P2 million to buy two vehicles, the Public Account Committee (PAC) heard this week.
The revelation was made by PAC member and Member of Parliament for Kanye North, Kentse Rammidi. He expressed concern and shock that Council Secretaries were being chauffeured in cars that were more expensive than those used to transport Assistant Ministers.
“I’m concerned with the way local authorities spend money on vehicles. For instance, Chobe District Council used P2 million to buy two vehicles. How come that a Council Secretary is being driven in a car that is more expensive than that of an Assistant Minister?” asked Rammidi.
Replying, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Khumo Matlhare, admitted that at expenditure councils across the country on vehicles was excessive and needs to be regulated.   
“The Honourable Member is correct. The expenditure at local authorities is very high. There should be standards for buying or procurement of vehicles,” said Matlhare.
Touching on other issues, especially the pending decentralisation policy, Matlhare said they had attempted to benchmark with Commonwealth member states during one of the conferences held in one of the African countries.  
“We are still pursuing the decentralisation policy,” said Matlhare. He revealed that initially a Swedish company was appointed through a tender to assist his Ministry in formulating the policy.
Matlhare explained that this was collaboration between his Ministry and United Nations (UN) office in Botswana for purposes of “giving us funding and experience.” ┬áHe further explained that though they had since abandoned the collaboration, the Ministry was still pursuing the policy.
