Gaborone attorney, Tshiamo Rantao, has resigned from the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) Board after serving for seven months as the board’s legal adviser.
The youthful Rantao, who practices with Lerumo Mogobe Attorneys, joined the BNYC board when he was appointed as a special member last June.
In a letter addressed to the acting Executive director, Tina Molathegi, Rantao stated that when he was appointed he had hoped to serve the country’s youth only to find himself in a deadlock because of the internal battles haunting the organization.
“The painful infighting involving a majority of the committee members amongst themselves, the perpetual battles between some members of the committee and the management, and the lack of trust and running battles between some committee members and government officials in the relevant ministry, have literally incapacitated the committee on its mandate to lead the youth. This is painful,” reads a lengthy paragraph from the letter.
Rantao indicated that the fighting was not in any way motivated by any differences in principle but were just mere personality clashes and greed, which he felt would end up harming his good reputation.
“It appears to me that the deep-seated hatred dates back to the BNYC elections at the University of Botswana early last year. I was not involved in those elections and perhaps that is why I am not interested in the said purposeless battles,” he said.
Ever since the elections of the new board, the BNYC has been marred by controversy and a leadership struggle with Minister Moeng Pheto and government officials being accused of meddling in the affairs of the Council. Last year, the Board chairperson, Elius Rantleru, suspended the acting director, Tina Molathegi, a move that was thrown out by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs which stated that the current board had no right to suspend her. Information reaching The Sunday Standard indicated that Minister Pheto was on the verge of dissolving the BNYC board because of the hostility among board members. Pheto felt that the continuous acrimony was hindering the organisation’s progress.
“However the BNYC, being a national project, I trust that it can still be saved from its self-destruction by all concerned before it is too late,” Rantao lamented in his statement of farewell to his former colleagues.
When reached by The Sunday Standard, the chairperson of the board, Elius Rantleru, confirmed that he had received Rantao’s resignation letter. He, however, could not say anything concerning reports that the ministry would soon dissolve the board because of its incompetence. Efforts to reach the acting executive director, Tina Molathegi, were fruitless as her phone was still off by the time of going to press.
