Lack of prioritization in development planning seems to be a stumbling block towards acquiring government’s ‘commitments’ of economic diversification and employment creation. This is evident when land servicing in an industrial site in a prime land is not given priority and developers had to spend more money on water and electricity, so that they start business.
A Mogoditshane/Thamaga sub-district full council meeting was this past week told by Councilor Ofentse Mareme of Gabane North East that more than P700 million was used by entrepreneurs in the Mogoditshane Block 8 Phase two industrial site, to erect buildings without water.
“One of them, a brick-maker, has drilled a bore hole in his plot. Though it could be high yielding, the water is contaminated by underground water tables. So, for portable water he has to spend more money. Another has drilled borehole in her plot but it has low yield; forcing her to divide her employees and have some of them posted at rented outlets though she spent lots of money building her double storey warehouse there.”
“Another one has paid P10m for connection of electricity. He has purchased and is mounting state of the art plant worth more than P200m. His plot is not connected to water and he has to bowse water. The plant, a paper manufacturing one has the potential to employ thousands of people. It is going to use lots of water as there is going to be recycling,” said Mareme, adding that the project is going to help conserve environment. It has the potential also, to empower surrounding communities through VDC and Trusts projects. Once fully operational, the plant is going to recycle 40 tons of paper. Waste paper, he said is going to be a thing of the past in the whole country. The country might end up importing waste paper to sustain the plant’s production.
Councilor Mareme said he has since gone to different relevant offices to enquire when servicing would be done in such prime land.
