BG reporter

The standoff between Molapo Crossing Shopping Complex owners and the department of roads over the blockage of an access road into the mall along Metsimotlhabe-Gaborone road due to the ongoing upgrading of the latter is far from over.
Accusations and counter accusations between government officials and the proprietor, Luc Vandecasteele, continued this week. A meeting between the two parties on Wednesday failed to resolve the impasse as government insists that Molapo Crossing owners should wait until October for the main contractor on the Metsimotlhabe-Gaborone road to complete their project, before they can be allowed to build a service road into the mall.
Vandecasteele complains that the ongoing construction has heavily disrupted business and negatively affected his tenants. He said tenants lose millions of Pula on a monthly basis, as majority of their customers cannot access the mall as a result of the road, which is currently under construction. Last year Vandecasteele requested the Ministry of Transport and Communication to allow him build half a kilometre service road between the mall and the neighbouring Grand Palm Hotel to enable customers from the direction of Mogoditshane and Block Six area access into the mall.
Botswana Guardian has in its possession correspondence from the Minister of Transport and Communication Frank Ramsden dated 10 November 2009, which approved the proposal to build the service road. Ramsden, however, said he could only allow the service road to be built on left-in-left-out along the Western bypass contrary to what Vandecasteele had initially proposed.
On Wednesday Vandecasteele met with the Director of Roads, Kabo Kote, who informed him that they could not proceed with the construction of the service road because the main contractor in the Metsimotlhabe-Gaborone project, Tripple C has not completed work. Vandecasteele was told he could only start construction in October but argued that the date is too far and his tenants would have lost a substantial amount of business.
But Kote said they have a clear case, that as much as they appreciate concerns over loss of business from the mall tenants due to ongoing developments, proper procedure should be followed to avoid unnecessary costs on their part.
He said government is in the process of engaging independent consultants to make their own designs of the project, which upon approval will give Molapo Crossing the green light to start construction of the service road. However, Kote emphasised that construction of the service road can only commence after the main contractor has completed his work.
Vandecasteele on the other hand maintains that the roads department is blocking the construction of the service road, suggesting that he can enter into an agreement with the main contractor to allow him to build the service road.