I am not affiliated to any political party but I came across a interesting post yesterday about Botswana being an environment wherein the will to succeed more than BDP affiliation will draw success to an individual. However as an ordinary citizen having grown in Botswana the following set of events have discouraged and continue to discourage me that there is a level playing field; 1. According to media reports Samson Guma Moyo and his BDP business partner built a hotel in Phase 4 in an area zoned for Civic and recreation. The development was not approved TRPB but they were over-ruled by a BDP minister. What is shocking is that is that the application was made when the facility was already operating. How did it get through tourism red tape to operate without planning approval? For an ordinary citizen to build such, they 1st have to apply for re-zoning of the land, submit plans to TRPB via the local authority before laying the 1st brick. They would then use the TRPB approved plans in their hotel and tourism grading application. WILL POWER? 2. Molapo Crossing, wherein another prominent BDP top man (I think it was Tibone) is/was a director was built on a flood plain. This is illegal according to environmental legislation. If I remember well a commission was set up to investigate the project as there were a lot of irregularities involving DK as well. For an ordinary citizen there is a prescribed buffer wherein one has to observe when building next a flood plain or wet land. Again environmental authorisation has to be obtained before laying the 1st brick. Remember this was in the same time as the demolitions of illegally built homes of ordinary citizens in Mogodisthane and Tsolamosese. Shem, they had the WILL POWER to try and give their families the right to shelter. 3. An airstrip was recently built in a private property using government resources. The explanation from the Bw Government Facebook was that the strip will be open to public use. Which member of public owns aircraft? I know 90% of indigenous Batswana dont. I dont even know if the owner of that property has his own aircraft. I also know that public carriers wont use the facility. Again, I wonder if an ordinary citizens WILL POWER can get the government to build him an airstrip ko masimong a gagwe. My understanding is that commercial/private aircrafts pay to use airports/air strips. Who will they be paying to when they use the facility in a private land? 4. A block of flats was built by a prominent Indian businessman near Gaborone Sun without a building permit by the GCC. Again there was no change of use application process therefore neighbours were not consulted. One of the neighbours managed to get a court order to demolish the property as it was illegally built and infringed on her privacy. The building still stands. What is shocking again is that the flats house diplomats without an occupancy certificate from the GCC. Again us ordinary citizens will be stiffled by red tape to develop such when people do it illegally and are subsequently supported by the government. Same thing can be said about the illegal procurement on the Jamal CBD building. The above incidents are just a drop in the ocean showing preferential treatment given to those connected with the BDP viewed from a non-partisan ordinary member of the public. For the rest of us its that much harder to succeed. Not saying its impossible just that its harder. The perspective is demotivating citizens from exercising their WILL to succeed.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 08:46:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015