Monarch Kgosi decries business disinterest in rebuilding Kgotla

Lindiwe Mozola | Wednesday August 12, 2015 14:58

The shelter was on April 1 this year engulfed by a mysterious raging inferno that reduced it to ashes. Moses said in an interview that they have made a plea to several businesspeople for their support but nothing has been forthcoming.

“By the time we called a meeting to discuss the issue the business community was very optimistic in supporting us, but to date they are reluctant to bring forth their contributions,” he said.

He added: “I only received P300 from a big company but I will not name it.”

He applauded one particular resident farmer for contributing P5,000 as an individual saying that he was the first person to contribute such a high amount of money.

Moses also extended his gratitude to DJ Colastraw for organising a music festival that was held in June to raise funds for the initiative and the amount raised was P3,000.

“Also Selolwe Junior Secondary School has contributed a lot of money though I am not sure of the exact amount. However it is a commendable move, more so that it was the children and teachers that contributed out of their pockets,” he added.

Moses said the total cost needed to rebuild the shelter amounted to P100,000 but with people reluctant to contribute it would be difficult to reach this target.

He also said few people in the Monarch community had honoured their pledges of P50 per head in a household.  Furthermore, even though they had been organising dinners as one of the strategies to raise funds, few people had attended. He said people suffer from the dependency syndrome and expect the government to do everything for them without meeting the government half way.

“We cannot always expect to be given things on a silver platter without putting some effort. Previously, the shelter was singularly built by the government but this time around our government is faced with financial constraints and we have to play a role,” said Moses.

In addition they have sent a proposal to the Francistown City Council and other tribal authorities requesting for their support.