MPs support airport Bill, warn not to mortgage country
KABO MOKGOABONE
Staff Writer
| Wednesday August 6, 2008 00:00
Lobatse Member of Parliament (MP) Nehemiah Modubule failed to force a second adjournment after he called for further deliberation on the matter. Modubule last week managed to call for an adjournment, asking for clarity on section of the Finance and Audit Act that was to guide parliamentarians' debate. Modubule's move divided the House, forcing the Acting Deputy Speaker, Maitlhoko Mooka, to call for a vote that ended with an overwhelming majority of MPs opposing the adjournment.
Conceding defeat, Modubule said that borrowing money for such an airport expansion project is not a bad idea but 'we might put the country in a bad situation in future' because of complicated borrowing legislation.
The bill needed Parliament's approval of the P124 million loan from the Sudan-based BADEA, which is part of the financing requirement for the project.
Gaborone West South MP Robert Molefhabangwe argued that it would be unrealistic for Parliament to resist such a Bill, adding that no one was disagreeing with it, but feared other issues that crop up might delay its implementation.
However, the articulate legislator noted that since it involved vast sums of money, it would be prudent to ensure good workmanship on the project, and expressed hope that the loan would 'come with no strings attached'.
Normally infrastructure projects like these do have strings attached because the lending nations, especially those from Asia, often prefer handpicked contractors.
'My belief is that you will not get contractors from where the money is coming from. We must establish the standards of the project we are undertaking. It is worrying that even if we have the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BoBS), its job is nil,' observed Molefhabangwe.
Selebi-Phikwe West MP Kavis Kario expressed delight at the fact that Botswana's external debt, compared to some neighbouring countries is not excessive, which gives government the leeway to borrow funds for the upgrading of SSKA, which is approaching the end of its initial design period and cannot cope with traffic volume by 2025.
He expects the new design plan will give the international airport another 25-30 year design life taking into account current population growth and the booming tourism sector.
However, like other legislators Kario advised that the legislation on borrowing should be interpreted and made clear to the House.
'Let the airports expansion not just end in Gaborone, but other centres like Selebi-Phikwe where there is an approved diversification policy that will require an expanded airport,' he added.
Mahalapye East MP Bothogile Tshireletso said that the airport expansion is a welcome development that will challenge the national airline (Air Botswana) to a re-reassess its strategy in order to promote tourism.
She said rather than first going through the Oliver Tambo International Airport (ORT) in Johannesburg to connect, AB could survey prospects for direct flights between Gaborone and Nairobi as the two countries have the same tourism opportunities.
Tshireletso advised government to look at the model of OR Tambo when demarcating parking space, saying the area there includes space for underground parking.
It is estimated that the expansion project will cost about half a billion Pula, as government attempts to benchmark it to other regional airports and prepare SSKA as an alternative to ORT in 2010 when South Africa is to host the FIFA World Cup.
The project entails the construction of a state-of-the-art terminal building and expansion of the runway from 3,000m to 4,000m. The terminal building will accommodate at least 450 people.
Maun International Airport, which is the busiest in the country, and Francistown Airport, are also to be refurbished.