A WALK FOR THE LOVE OF COMMUNITY
North West Council go hunting bucks
THE North West District Council have brought out the begging bowl, crying for funding and support ahead of the first ever Chairman Charity Walk slated for Maun on 9th March.
Aimed at bringing in some much-needed Pula to the currently dry Chairman’s Fund account, the walk hopes to attract participation from business communities in and around Maun, socials clubs and the general public.
“This will be an annual event,” revealed Council Secretary, Thatayotlhe Balapi.
He admitted that although all councils have a Chairman’s Charity Fund, the North West’s account has never been active.
“The purpose of the fund is to fund the chairman’s activities that are communitybased, not those that will benefit the chairman in his personal capacity but the Office of the Chairman of the Council and not of a particular political party,” explained Balapi.
While the initiative is said to have been revived by the current Council Chairman (CC), Itumeleng Kelebetseng, Balapi maintains the council as a whole embraced the idea.
“After realising the financial challenges that we have gone through so far, council has decided to say let’s take this event and initiative to the community so that they know about it, that is, that as the Council Chairman I do care about what is happening in our communities hence the establishment of this fund, the charity walk.”
The walk will be used to solicit funds, which in turn can be used to facilitate shortfalls or gaps experienced when disasters strike in the district.
One such example is flooding, which can occur with the annual swamping of the Okavango Delta.
Floods are in fact expected to strike this year, as the Angolan Highlands, which feed the Delta, have received much water this rainy season.
“When issues of need, floods, do strike or any other mishap that can happen, council is expected to make provisions for that. Sometimes the council is unable to make such provisions due to financial constraints hence the CC must have that fund from which he can facilitate the needs of the community,” added Balapi.
As preparations for the big charity walk gain momentum, council leadership is putting in the leg work in an attempt to get as many people on board as possible, including the CC himself, having knocked on doors of potential sponsors.
This coming weekend, Kelebetseng’s deputy, Nico Folae, will lead a team to Kasane where they will take advantage of the annual Kazungula Marathon to seek extra support for the walk.
“We have requested as many people as possible to turn up and participate. We just want people to participate, if people and companies can throw a little Thebe in there, we will achieve a milestone,” added Kelebetseng.
Batawana Paramount Chief, Kgosi Tawana Moremi, is expected to take part in the walk, while Assistant Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Buti Billy, has been invited as a guest walker.
The walk is divided into different distances, the longest being 20km and attracts a P100 registration fee, followed by 10km at P50 registration. Social clubs get in with P500 per team. Payments are to be done at Rural Administration Council Revenue (RAC) in Maun.
There will be an activation event on 2nd March in preparation for the main event.