Kutlwano Magazine

FINALLY THE SUN RISES OVER LETLHAKENG

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Olekantse Sennamose

Location : LETLHAKENG

Event : Profile

The month of September could not have brought more heart warming news to residents of Letlhakeng, if not the entire sub-district. Nestled along a canal that has proved a nightmare to residents during rainy seasons, the village has been deprived of much development despite its status as a sub-district headquarters.

However, there is now hope on the horizon for the picturesque village. One of the major projects earmarked for the village and has been on the horizon for a long time is that of infrastructure development, which comprises internal roads, streetlights and storm water drainage system.

Recently, residents witnessed the ground breaking for the project and sighed with relief that finally it will be realised because for a long time a number of challenges placed a “tunnel at the end of the light” in as far as the project is concerned.

Kweneng District council chairman, Motlhopi Leo, put it better during the ground breaking ceremony that “Ditsela tse bagaetsho ha nne e le ngwana nkabo re re di tlhokana le go bewa phogwana,” he said to the chuckles of the attendants, referring to the many hurdles that stood in the way of the realisation of the project.

It has been a long and challenging journey indeed ever since the project was conceived in 2008.

Its design was done by a company named Group Consult Global (CGC) in 2009 and later on, the council found the need to engage another consultant to do the supervision of the project.

According to Leo, that move was the birth of the first hurdles for the project as GCG challenged the council`s decision before the courts of law, and the courts ruled in its (GCG) favour.

However, by then the council had already engaged another consultant who was already on site, namely CPP Botswana who had done the design audit and was only waiting for the council to tender for construction so they could supervise the work.

“The outcome of the court forced us to take CPP Botswana out of the site but just when the council was about to go for tender, the second challenge struck; the global recession, and the project had to be shelved. That was 2009,`` he said.

As the economy improved, the project was re-visited and its funding was announced at the beginning of last year and preparations for its tendering started in earnest, amid advice to scale it down as the economy was not fully recovered.

“This forced the council to scale down the project from the initial 30km to 20km and exclude the streetlights. In May last year the project was finally tendered for with expectation to start construction in September the same year,” said the council chairman.

However, just when many thought the project would now be on track, all the companies that had tendered failed to make the cut, and re-tendering was opened in January this year.

In August things turned around, it was no longer “a tunnel at the end of the light,” but rather light at the end of the tunnel.

A contract was finally signed with Pre-con Construction and the roads have been increased to the initial 30km with streetlights included.

The P162 million project is finally underway having commenced in October with completion expected in April 2016, a period of 30 months. The project will not only improve the image of Letlhakeng but will also bring with it other benefits.

Letlhakeng Sub-district Council chairman, Tshoganetso Leuwe, says they have offered the contractor the old Mphuthe Junior Secondary School compound to set base at.

“This is on the agreement that the contractor will renovate the old structure and hand it back to the council at the end of their tenure. The structure will come in handy as it will be used as office space for both central and local government departments,” he said.

Leuwe says the contractor has already moved into the old structure. Apart from benefitting at the Old Mphuthe, Leuwe says the project means a lot not only to Letlhakeng but the whole sub-district.

“This will be the first tarred internal roads in the history of the sub-district. All along, our internal roads have been gravel, which has proved a challenge in as far as maintenance is concerned because they are easily washed away during the rainy season. So they are costly as they need constant maintenance,” he says.

Leuwe also notes that they are lucky to have been given 30km as he says normally internal roads are around 20km. “So the delays have been a blessing,” reckons the former police officer with a smile.

There are perceptions, whether justified or assumed, that construction companies normally bring along vices such as the prevalence of HIV infections as well as pregnancies and family break-ups. However, Leuwe says such vices are not anything abnormal.

“Every development brings with it population increase, and where there are many people the behaviour tends to be a bit suspect, so that should be expected,” he adds.

However, Leuwe prefers to focus mostly on the positives of the project. “We are expecting the village to benefit from the population increase as it will mean more demand for houses to rent. Small businesses will also benefit from this increment and people will get job opportunities for the duration of the project,” he says.

Leuwe reasons that completion of the project will improve the internal transport system in the village. “Right now we do not have taxis in the village because of the bad roads but on completion of the roads we expect taxis to start running. This will also benefit civil servants who rent out in the village as they have to travel on foot daily from their homes to work,” he says.

Leuwe, noetheless, observes that throughout the construction period, they will be sitting with fingers crossed that the project does not face any further challenges that may delay it, such as rains.

Talking of benefits to small businesses, Leuwe`s sentiments are echoed by youthful Victor Melao, a small time vendor in the village.

“Surely we are looking forward to the day the contractor will fully relocate into the village. This will be a good opportunity to make a kill. Hopefully, the employees will bring their wives and children so that the market base can be bigger,” he jokingly comments.

Melao says if all goes according to plan, he will have managed to construct a kiosk by the time the contractor leaves the village in 2016.

Despite the project having taken a total of five years from conception to the actual construction, resident of the sub district can now rest assured that life in their area is coming closer to that of urban centres, and the image of the village will soon befitting the headquarters of one of the largest sub districts in the country.

Like the sun rising in the horizon, so are the hopes and future of the village. ENDS