Funds amounting to P19, 685 550.00 have been allocated the Gaborone District for the financial year 2015/16 to implement 140 Ipelegeng projects in five constituencies of Gaborone. The amount is a slight decrease from last year’s P20 397 000, which was initially at P18, 717,000.00 but later increased following an increase in beneficiaries’ allowances and sustenance fee to P30.00 and P7.00 respectively. 60 percent of the budget has since been released and so far, P3,161,696.56 has already been spent.
Addressing councilors during the ongoing full council meeting on Monday, Gaborone Mayor, Kagiso Thutlwe said three projects from National Museum and Monuments have since been added to the list, bringing the total number of projects to 143. According to the Mayor , of the 140 projects planned under the current budget, 121 have already started and their completion rates range between 1 and 25 per cent while 19, which are mainly maintenance and paving works, have not yet commenced.
Meanwhile, speaking about social safety nets, Thutlwe highlighted that 1725 beneficiaries are currently assisted under the different nets, an increase of 4.7 per cent from 1648 in the first quarter. 167 persons have been registered as destitutes, 1059 orphaned children, 417 needy students, 47 children in need of care and 35 community based care patients. Thutlwe said compared to the previous quarters, there has been a 24.5 per cent increase in the number of needy students and 51.6 per cent increase in children in need of care. The increase, he said, is a result of the number of graduating orphans whose care givers do not have adequate means to support them as well as the number of children living with disabilities who need assistance through social safety nets.
From March to May 2015, 305 civil and child welfare cases were reported and attended to, 68 per cent were cases reflecting ills committed against and by children and majority of the clientele were females. “Civil cases for this quarter amounted to 144, constituting 32 per cent of all cases,” Thutlwe explained. He encouraged councillors to work together to uphold the moral fabric of society and become better role models. “Our society is on a down ward spiral as the family structures are crumbling,” he warned.