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SELEBI PHIKWE – Initiatives to broaden Selebi Phikwe region’s economic base may be shelved after government announced budget constraints.

Several infrastructure projects earmarked for development under National Development Plan 10 (NDP10) in the region will not have funding following Government’s deliberate move to cut down on expenditure.

Speaking at the national Selebi Phikwe regional conference on diversification government ministries indicated lean budgets towards infrastructure development in the region.

Government cites competing national resources and global economic slowdown for its failure to provide adequate infrastructure and regional projects to gear up the diversification of Selebi Phikwe region.

“The global economic meltdown adversely affected our economic resource to a level where financing national programmes is a challenge.”

“In this regard I regret to indicate that the government has not been able to provide all the requisite financial resource for Selebi Phikwe Diversification Unit’s (SPEDU) activities and regional projects in the next financial year,” said Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo.

Matambo was officially opening the two day national conference on the economic diversification.

Also present were nine other ministries who in making their presentations echoed the same sentiments as their Finance & Development counterpart.

The ministry of Education and Skills Development announced that the proposed technical college will not be built in Selebi Phikwe while the ministry of Transport and Communication announced budget limitations for reconstruction of Selebi Phikwe to Martins drift road and renovation of the Selebi Phikwe airport.

“We have no budget for construction. The projects are in plan but not funded,” said Lewis Malikongwa deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Transport and Communication.

Matambo, however, said despite the existing budgetary snag, Government shall strive to ensure that SPEDU will successfully implement the strategy on diversification of Selebi Phikwe.

Some of the projects in the region expected to be implemented under NDP10 are renovation of the Selebi Phikwe airport, construction of a technical college and renovation of the road linking Martins Drift and Selebi Phikwe.

Selebi Phikwe region diversification efforts are expected to stimulate economic activities which up till now have been mainly dependent on mining activities.