A year after its completion, a new police station built in Palapye has still to be handed over to the Botswana Police Service.
The newly built, modernized police station cost the government millions of pula but now cannot be handed over because its poor water reticulation system renders it unusable.
“It is more than eight months of us waiting to be handed over our new police station in Palapye,” said Deputy Police Commissioner of the Botswana Police Service, Pester Gabolekwe. “We need the station like yesterday and Palapye residents are wandering why we are not occupying the building.”
He said that they could not use portable water in the new building, adding that, earlier, the water reticulation map was initially conducted by Water Affairs and later handed over to Water Utilities Corporation which discovered some problems.
Gabolekwe stated that they are hopeful that the building will be handed over around April.
He, in addition, conceded that his organization was also facing another similar problem where a project of houses that were to be renovated was temporarily suspended after the termination of a contract with the contractor.
“That has also affected us dismally because the Police Service is faced with a serious shortage of accommodation,” Gabolekwe stated. “Currently BPS is in discussion with the Botswana Housing Corporation on how we can purchase some houses to alleviate the shortage of accommodation.”
He revealed that they have identified three areas that have mainly been affected by a shortage of accommodation and these include Gaborone, Jwaneng and Gantsi.
“We hope that our discussion with BHC will not take long but once we have agreed the houses will be purchased to accommodate officers.”
Efforts to contact the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology were futile before going to press.
