Govt assists hailstorm victims

Houses that were destroyed by a hailstorm that ravaged the city of Francistown last week will be rebuilt through government assistance of approximately P500 000, the Minister for State President, Moeti Mohwasa has announced.

After an assessment of the damage Mohwasa, alongside Francistown Members of Parliament Wynter Mmolotsi, Ignatius Moswaane and Tiroyaone Ntsima as well as authorities from the Disaster Management office concluded that a total of 18 households in Francistown would receive assistance through the initiative. Some of the affected homes are in Kgaphamadi, Maipahela, Area W and Somerset, where victims were moved to temporary shelters and given food hampers through the assistance of Botswana Red Cross Society.

The hailstorm that hit Francistown lasted for approximately 30 minutes saw winds blowing away roofs of homes and buildings, trees falling on cars and properties.

An additional P200 000 was also disbursed to help the informal sector who were greatly affected by the storm within the city. About 57 informal sector business owners were affected and lost properties, shelters as well as money in the storm. Mohwasa raised a concern that majority of the informal sector business owners around the city are squatters, operating their businesses in areas they should not be, adding that the same issue had also been brought up by business owners who pleaded with the government to place them at a more suitable area.

“It is the responsibility of a caring government to assist victims in situations like this. This storm has not only affected homes, it has also affected government properties, private companies as well as a majority of the informal sector,” he added.

Mohwasa further reiterated that for many years, the government has failed to ensure that Batswana have proper habitable homes; he however assured stakeholders that with maintenance of the houses damaged by the storm, proper procedures would be followed and the teams would ensure acceptable council planning standards are adhered to, to avoid any further damage in the future. The maintenance project will be carried out by private companies for both labour and supply of material.

The Minister further raised concerns over the state of the storm water drainage system within the city, noting that there is a lot of littering in the drainage system that is contributing immensely to the damage caused by heavy rains. He further pleaded with residents of the city to avoid such littering which has painful repercussions for the people of Francistown.

Alongside maintenance works and refinancing of affected informal sector businesses, Mohwasa added that there was a need to offer counseling services to all the victims that were affected by the storm. He noted that counseling was crucial as the experience of losing their homes and properties right before their eyes is traumatizing especially for the children.