Maboane village, 51 kilometres West of Letlhakeng village recently turned into a political battlefield, seven days before the council by election there.
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP), the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and the Botswana National Front (BNF) had formed a 50 metres triangle as they sought to win over the village.
The BCP’s candidate, Keanogile ‘Phalechana’ Melao, who was being launched that day told his listeners of his vision to empower the youth. This he would do by turning the buildings that the China State Company had given the Maboane community into business centre where the youth would carry on businesses like a printing shop, internet cafe, recreation centre, salon and handcraft shop.
The pint-sized Melao left his listeners in stitches when he said he could not grow as much as other children because the underdevelopment of Maboane disturbed his sleep.
“I hear children grow up as they sleep. But with me I could not sleep because I was wondering whether Maboane people are cursed or whether God does not like them,” he said, amid much chuckling from the villagers. “That is why I am so short.”
Substantively, he said unemployment was growing in the village, which needed a vocal candidate of his calibre to tackle. To keep further unemployment at bay, he would negotiate with the Council leadership for a collective approach to Debeers Company so that together they come up with a programme whose objective would be to create employment for Maboane community.
“The results for our pupils are a cause for concern. I will work with Parents Teachers Association (PTA), VDC and general community to help improve these results. There is a lot of water in our area but livestock and human beings alike are all thirsty,” he pledged. “I will negotiate with Debeers Company so they give us a borehole to water our livestock and crops. To Council I am taking motions requesting Council to construct water treatment plant for human consumption. Assessment of destitute is critical so they get assistance as well as construction of an abattoir in our area so our community sells livestock nearer.”
In response to accusations that he was not from Maboane but from Sesung, he said he proved it in the past during debates between the contestants that he was from the village. He has known the health post in the village from a tender age, he claimed. The thirst that has troubled residents there despite having boreholes that supply water to Jwaneng mine for decades is a concern that needs commitment to erase.
BDP candidate there, Gabampatle Ramonnanyana, told her listeners that they knew her as their child. She said that the community had sent her before on a voluntary basis and she never disappointed them.
“I am going to work hand in hand with the village committees like the Village Development Committee and ensure the communities here enjoy the fruitful programmes the government has availed for them. These opposition candidates know the programmes but they do not inform the electorates about them so that they turn around and criticize the government for being unsupportive of the communities,” said Ramonnanyana, to loud shouts of “Tsholetsa Domkraga!”
She added that they should not combine a donkey and a horse and expect them to haul properly together. Combining the BDP parliamentarian of the area, Maxwell Motowane with an opposition Councillor would be such a scenario, she said.
Her campaign Manager, Ontibile Kgetsiyarona, told the audience that afternoon, consisting of some elderly men and women, that the opposition parties were there, and had attempted several times in vain to show the worthiness of their candidates. They were busy fighting with each other and therefore the democrats should capitalize on that shortfall and hammer them hard.
For his part the area Legislator, Motowane, who frequently spiced his speech with deep Sekgalagadi , called it misdemeanour for the opposition BCP to have brought someone from Sesung to be a candidate in Maboane.
“Some of these things are transgressions. How can they bring someone who has not even registered here to vote, who will not vote for himself, and expect us to vote for him? These people only want to unseat BDP. They do not have any programmes in store for you. Botswana no longer has money as before. So we need representatives who work well with the government. We do not want people who will go to council chamber just to criticize. Vote for a woman so that she joins other women in Council so that the women’s voices will be louder when they speak for women and children.”
Some 50 metres away, Mompoloki Mokgolele of BNF was lambasting the BDP government amidst punctuating slogans of ‘Kopano! Shapa umbrella shapa!’
“I am going to advocate for developments in this area. This village is far too big to have one stand pipe. Our village is also too big to be serviced by a Health Post,” he promised. “The community hall has long been blown away by winds and nobody seems to care about this. There is a borehole in the middle of this village. The council granted us this, but the Land Board decided to deprive us of that right. It allocated plots where we were to water our livestock and now our livestock is suffering. I will also talk to the Debeers Company to grant us one of its more than 25 boreholes.
Our children are suffering at Masupi as they have to leave their parents at ages of six to attend school in Mantshwabisi. Something should be done about this. There at Masupi also, strayed livestock is valued over human beings as the council borehole there is only accessed by this, and not human beings. I am going to speak against these.”
In response to BDP accusations that he does not inform his fellow youth of the benefits of government’s programmes even though he benefited in the Youth Farmer’s grant and LIMID Mokgolele said he advises them.
“The problem with farming in our area is that boreholes are owned by syndicates. It is difficult for youth to access these. I got the opportunity because my mother happens to be member of a syndicate. I once tried to recruit 28 youth into farming and water rights proved to be their worst barrier,” he said.
If the number of the rallies’ audience is anything to go by then the Botswana National Front is going to re-take its seat. The ward seat fell vacant following the death of BNF Councillor Bright Segwagwa.
