BALA president bows out ‘a happy man’
Outgoing president of the Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA), Geoffrey Sibisibi says he is stepping down a happy man as his committee managed the organisation to a high level.
BALA will hold its conference from Thursday this week in Maun. He said one of the things or mandates they wanted was for BALA to have a good relationship with Local Government ministry and the country’s leadership, adding the association is now in a good position to achieve that.
Apart from government, he said they also wanted to bring the organisation closer to its members and staff, which according to him, they managed to do.
Sibisibi said BALA is now recognised countrywide and in the region. “It is exciting to see the organisation’s election has attracted much interest.
Again its membership has a l s o grown and now people are much more willing to lead it to another level which is quite impressive. BALA must grow even more and be able to amend its constitution for it to accommodate even former councillors.
I hope the conference will re-look into the constitution issue,” the outgoing president told The Monitor on Saturday.
Sibisibi pointed out that they did well in rebranding BALA so that it appeals to its members. In addition, he said when his committee took over, they found out that there were councillors who had no interest in BALA, and they had to visit all councils to re-introduce the brand to councillors and educate them on its importance.
Another issue that Sibisibi highlighted as area of concern, is the welfare of councillors as their remuneration which is not attractive. He said now they are glad that the government has at least given their salaries a five percent increase.
“Unlike Members of Parliament, councillors are the ones who are faced with most of the challenges at ward level because residents want all assistance from them,” he said.
Moreover, Sibisibi added he is happy that government agreed with them to turn some sub-districts into full districts. He said the move will improve service delivery in some
villages.
Unlike Members of Parliament, councillors
are the ones who are faced with most of the challenges at ward level because residents want all assistance from
them