End the Gabane Roadblock: Restore Our Commute, Revive Our Village Economy

To: The Minister of Transport and Public Works, The Commissioner of Police, The Gabane Village Leadership, and All Relevant Authorities
We, the residents, landlords, business owners, and commuters of Gabane, urgently petition for the immediate review and removal or reform of the police roadblock on the A10 road.
This checkpoint, on an inherently narrow and poorly maintained road, has created a crisis that extends far beyond traffic delays and it is strangling the economic lifeblood of our community and undermining Gabane's vital role in the Greater Gaborone region.
Gabane is more than a village; it is a key residential hub. Our community provides affordable, peaceful living for hundreds who work in Gaborone but seek to avoid the city's higher costs and congestion. Our proximity to the city is our greatest asset, predicated on one thing: a reliable and efficient commute.
The current roadblock has destroyed that reliability, with devastating consequences:
1. Paralyzed Peak Hour Commute: The roadblock creates a bottleneck on a road unfit for stationary traffic. What is a short distance becomes a daily hours-long ordeal during peak times (6-9 AM & 4-7 PM). This defeats the very purpose of choosing Gabane for its accessible location.
2. Killing Our Rental Market and Local Economy: The perpetual gridlock is causing an exodus.
· Tenants are moving out, choosing locations with predictable travel times. Landlords are facing vacant properties and financial loss.
· Local businesses are suffering as customers avoid the area, deliveries are delayed, and the village gains a reputation for being "impossible to enter or exit."
· Gabane's appeal as a commuter-friendly hub is being destroyed, threatening a downward spiral for our entire local economy.
3. A Broader Regional Impact: This is not just a Gabane problem. By crippling a key access route to the capital, the roadblock disrupts the regional flow of workers, places additional strain on alternative roads, and negates the sustainable urban planning of utilizing nearby villages as residential hubs.
4. Critical Safety Hazard: The gridlock poses a severe risk. Ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles themselves would be immobilized in an emergency, putting every resident and commuter in danger.
We fully support the police in their mandate to ensure security. Our appeal is against the unsuitable location and operational timing of this checkpoint, whose collateral damage is now greater than the problem it may be solving.
Our Proposed Solutions:
· Conduct an Immediate Review of the necessity and effectiveness of this specific, choke-point location.
· Relocate the checkpoint to a wider, safer section of road where traffic can be managed without causing a standstill.
· Suspend Operations During Peak Hours to allow for the essential daily movement of workers, students, and goods.
· Employ Mobile, Random Patrols as a more effective and less disruptive security alternative.
We call on our leaders to act. Every lost minute in traffic is lost productivity. Every departing tenant is lost income for a household and a business. Every day this continues, Gabane's vitality diminishes.
Sign this petition to demand a solution that ensures security AND enables our community and its crucial commuter link to Gaborone to survive and thrive.