Chinese Workmanship - Maun, Botswana
Residents Rip Into Chinese Workmanship
By Gaolebogwe Moipei
Residents have spoken out strongly about how Chinese workmanship on road and building projects is below standard and also that State funds are misused under the pretext that projects are being carried out. They raised these concerns recently at a Kgotla meeting in Maun addressed by parliament's powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Residents talked at length about the new Maun bus and taxi rank which they called frustrating “and bringing shame on the community.” They said the new rank will have to be reconstructed as time goes by, and that the government will still lose money. They also complained of the bad state of the new Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital which they say was built using poor building materials, and described the hospital “as pretty on the outside” but with no laundry washing equipment to an extent whereby laundry is taken to Ghanzi hospital.
They also complained of the malfunctioning sewage system and said it was a health hazard. The PAC heard that waste water from the hospital flowed into the Thamalakane River, endangering wildlife and polluting the river itself. Residents complained that Chinese companies are involved “in every construction project such as building bridges, schools, ranks, clinics and airports.”
It was said the Chinese were always successful in winning tenders, and residents made it clear they suspected personal interests between government officials and the companies. They decried that local companies did not reap anything from government projects and that there was poor workmanship on the part of the Chinese.
“Workmanship is of low quality because of a lack of seriousness from the construction companies and the use of poor quality materials,” the residents said
When addressing the meeting, PAC member Gilson Saleshando said the committee was one of 16 committees of parliament charged with the responsibility of overseeing the activities of the Executive, particularly for overseeing expenditure through calling ministers and parastatals to appear and account for the funds allocated. As the PAC they also call permanent secretaries from different government departments and parastatals to reveal how allocated funds have been spent, and where it has run short and the reasons. An issue of major concern is that in most cases allocated funds are returned, although some projects would have not been completed.
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