9th October 2020
Own Correspondent
The provision of services, such as, free access to the internet is an imperative which supports continuous development and make Gaborone a world class city with improved mobility, better urban amenities, vibrant centres, and inclusive and livable neighborhoods allege Gaborone City Council(GCC)officials.
“As we are gathered here today to launch the Gabz City Free Wi Fi hotspots in the Gaborone City we are gratified that the roll out of these hotspots will enable Batswana to make use of the available internet services,” said President Mokgweetsi Masisi in official opening remarks in the old CBD.
He said, “The Gabz free wi fi initiative by the Gaborone City Council(GCC) intends to provide free and daily wi fi for 1 hour per user in some public areas in Gaborone. The first phase of this project entails the installation of wi fi hotspots in ten public spaces in the city of Gaborone. These places were selected because they have already been provided with the requisite infrastructure in the form of fibre networks.”
Gaborone City Council is also reportedly hard at work developing a web based system where online services will be promulgated and services, such as, Planning and Building Permit System and Rates payments will be accessible online. These will be availed before the beginning of the 2021/22 financial year.
During its formative years Gaborone was declared the national capital in 1963, and when it attained independence in 1966 the population of the city was estimated at 6,000. The population of the city has since grown exponentially to over 231K as per the 2011 censors, requiring world class services.
“Without doubt ICT has taken center stage in our community livelihoods, hence this deliverable. We are awake to the reality that ICT has become the primary stimulant for innovation and ingenuity and it provides a formidable platform and a spring-board for employment creation,” said Father Maphongo, Gaborone City Mayor.
He said, “In my speech at Full Council session on the 27th July 2020 we indicated that BOFINET has provided Internet Hotspots infrastructure around the city. We also hinted that Gaborone City Council has entered into a partnership with BOFINET for the purpose of operationalizing some of these hotspots, and today we converge here to recognize and celebrate the dividends from this partnership.”
Gaborone as the national capital city has high-level economic activities, advanced socio-economic development and employment opportunities, and continued to attract a number of migrants from across and beyond the country. This calls for provision of better and quicker services and easy access to information, a dream we have made a reality.
Gaborone City Council therefore endeavours to enter into strategic partnerships with others stakeholders which include, but not limited to, learning institutions such as the University of Botswana and take advantage of their research department, as well as neighboring districts such as Kgatleng, Kweneng, South East, Southern as well as Lobatse Town to accrue benefits of common interest.
Some of the mega projects being developed in Gaborone include the Grade Separation of 3 Intersection along Western Bypass (at ‘Game City’, ‘Rainbow’ & ‘BTV’ Circles); the Design, Supply, Installation, Operation and Maintenance of the New Greater Gaborone Traffic Signaling System and Provision of Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) for Greater Gaborone.
Gaborone City Council is also working with Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZA) to develop two Special Economic Zones, namely Fairground and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.
The master plan for the SEZs will be completed by the end of October 2020, while the construction of the boulevard one road will be completed in January 2021. These projects will attract first class Foreign Direct Investment and will give an impetus to employment creation. Partnership with SEZA and councils to deliver on the envisioned SEZA projects must be a matter of compulsion and tight timelines be set to deliver on this mandate as the benefits are huge and will transform our country.
“Other major projects that GCC is planning to deliver, in collaboration with stakeholders, include the revitalization of the main mall and turn it into cultural hub, Development of Segoditshane Corridor into a tourist attraction, and development of a health hub, to promote inbound health tourism, where health facilities of different specialties will be availed. Development of markets places where farmers can sell their fresh,” said Maphongo.
He said, “We have in place a four-month turnaround strategy to illuminate Gaborone. This will be delivered by December. We are availing 20 open spaces this month for the public to express interest and bankable projects are of paramount importance and of necessity to acquire such, so that we rip the commercial benefits. There will be four open spaces given out per constituency.”
