Roads top agenda of Mochudi East MP

Lerato Maleke | Friday January 23, 2015 18:40

 

The poor state of the roads has been giving the residents of the river villages - Sikwane, Mabalane, Ramonaka and Mathubudukwane - a headache.

The previous MP, Isaac Mabiletsa tried to fight for the repair of the roads to no avail. By then, Mabiletsa informed Mmegi that a tender was awarded for the construction of Mmamashia-Modipane road and that government later cancelled the project due to recession.

Residents of the river villages who commute to Gaborone have to drive via Mochudi, which is costly compared to when they could be using a short cut via Oodi and Modipane. “We spend a lot of money on fuel as we have to drive via Mochudi everyday and this is very expensive. Imagine if the Sikwane-Modipane road was tarred. That is a short distance,” says Sally Morema, who works in Gaborone.

Another commuter, Pinkie Tlhowe says she pays P20 everyday from Sikwane to Gaborone and that she could be paying half if the Sikwane-Modipane road was tarred.

“Re setse re berekela transepote fela mme re tlhopha batho gore ba re emele ko Palamenteng (We are now working for transport fare and yet there are people we elected to parliament),” she asserts in exasperation.

Davids says the roads are top of his agenda and that he will speak about them in Parliament in February.

He says that his constituents should understand that the ruling party BDP controls the purse. Davids comes from the opposition UDC.

“I talked about these roads while still a BDP MP. Mabiletsa too tried his luck and I am back again and will be talking about the same roads,” says Davids. 

As the new MP he says he will not disappoint his electorates. He promises to fight for their rights in Parliament.

He says he is particularly touched by the plight of Olifants Drift residents who spend hours on the gravelled road because of its bad state.

Although the Kgatleng District Council (KDC) maintains the road, it continues to give residents a headache especially during rainy seasons.

There is no public transport from Mochudi to Olifants Drift, as bus operators do not have an interest in applying for a permit to ply the route. 

Before there was a volunteer who used to transport Olifants Drift and Ramotlabaki residents but he has since stopped due to breakdowns.

The volunteer, one Molefe Matswe says that he had to stop as he could not afford to maintain his vehicle and that he was getting little from the passengers.

As a result of this, Olifants Drift and Ramotlabaki residents have resorted to KDC vehicles especially the clinic vehicle and the Botswana Police.

However, it is not easy with the clinic vehicle as most of the time it transports patients who have been referred to Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital.

The vehicle also transports blood samples.