Of the 57 constituencies, Tati West promises to be one of the most hotly contested with seven aspirants vying for the single seat. The seven are Reverend Biggie Ganda Butale, Robert Muzila, Ruth Nyathi, former Francistown mayor Peter Ngoma, Makaleng ward councillor Damian Thapa, Nlaphwane ward councillor Farayi Bonyongo and Dr Badziili Nfila.
In a wide ranging interview, the youngest of the seven contestants, 41-year- old Butale, a proponent of direct election of the president, nevertheless warns against a complete constitutional review. In his view, the country’s constitution is still generally relevant and in sync with modern democratic dispensations.
Butale further warns the opposition to tread carefully in its calls for direct election of the president now because if such a law is passed before President Ian Khama’s constitutional two term lapses, the provision stands to benefit BDP most.
“While I advocate direct election of the president among a few constitutional reforms, I hasten to advise the opposition that given Khama’s popularity, if a law is passed now on the direct election of the president, it will work in favour of the BDP. As laws are not promulgated on a retrospective basis, the new provision would mean Khama is eligible to contest for presidency under the new dispensation which would not take into account that he is the sitting president.
“It would give him a new lease of life to legally further his presidency. All ex-presidents can bounce back into picture as nothing will legally forbid them from doing so. This is why it is all the more important for the opposition to tread with care. The opposition may find itself without a credible enough candidate to defeat ex-BDP presidents who wish to contest. That is not to say such a provision is not desirable ÔÇô it is and will further Botswana’s democratic credentials.”
Describing himself as dynamic, savvy, as a counselor, a preacher and teacher of God’s word, Butale holds forth on other electoral and constitutional reforms. He is among a few progressive democrats who subscribe to political funding, believing it would level the political playing field.
“Like the issue of direct election of the president, political funding will benefit the BDP most as it will be based on popular vote which the ruling party currently enjoys. I don’t know why we have a problem with it. Opposition political parties will start fighting over the money and the biggest beneficiary of their squabbles will be the ruling party which is endowed with better administrative and financial management capacity. Political party funding can be started on a small amount that will have been approved by Parliament. It is a good thing to be done and I think it must be the way to go.”
Butale admits that politics is an expensive undertaking and political party funding would lessen the burden on the respective parties and their candidates.
The other issue that Butale promises to advance if elected to parliament is the teaching of mother languages, especially at pre and primary education levels. The young lawyer said he does not have any problem with the teaching of mother languages as they would help preserve and promote different languages and their cultures.
He does not subscribe to the perception that the teaching of mother languages would be an expensive exercise because the best way to mitigate costs would be by infusing the languages into the current curriculum.
Turning from national issues to those affecting the Tati West constituency and the North East District in general, Butale who credits himself among the crop of young turks that helped popularize the BDP’s GS26 at the University of Botswana as a law student in the 1990s. He says the land shortage is a very serious problem that needs to be tackled with utmost urgency in the district.
“Government should buy all the private farms that are currently lying idle and allocate them to people for productive use. There should be a deliberate government policy to buy all private land for re-distribution to the communities. We need a time frame within which to acquire such private land before it becomes unbearably expensive.”
Butale is nonetheless against compulsory acquisition, believing it has potential to cause dissent and damage the country’s international image.
The other issue that Butale promises to press for once in parliament is development of infrastructure as a prerequisite for economic development. He laments that there is no reason why some important link roads like Tshesebe/Masunga have not been tarred. He said it is embarrassing even to the BDP that while design was long done, construction continues to fail to take off.
“Government should find money and tar the road. It should be constructed as a matter of urgency because it connects a lot of villages to the district headquarters at Masunga,” said Butale further bemoaning the under-developed state of Masunga compared to some sub-districts in the country.
The other road of concern in his reckoning is the one connecting the villages of Kalakamati/Sekakangwe, Mbalamabi all the way to Zwenshambe.
“All these roads must become a priority if government is serious about taking services to the people. A proper road network is the artery for economic development and no efforts should be spared in that regard lest other places remain eternally marginalized,” said the political aspirant.
Butale said as he enters the political fray in Tati West, he is alive to challenges that range from high youth unemployment that needs to be tackled with utmost urgency. His view is that a lot of horticultural and other commercial activities can be undertaken at Ntimbale dam to mitigate the effects of unemployment in the district.
“We need to think outside the box and maximize benefits that can accrue from full utilization of water from that dam. There is need for irrigated farming with water sourced from the dam. We cannot continue to rely on rain-fed agriculture that is so erratic. Government is already moving in that direction as evidenced by the Zambezi Agro Project. That is the way to go so as to ensure that food self sufficiency is promoted in the entire district. There is no reason to continue having the current pockets of poverty in our district. Commercial farming will go a long way in creating the necessary jobs and alleviate poverty. We must dream big and emulate other countries which have used their natural resources for economic development like Malaysia.”
He explains that Malaysia uses its oil for production purposes and is currently manufacturing cars like most developed countries.
A proponent of beneficiation and processing, Butale says deliberate efforts should be geared to ensure Botswana beneficiates its minerals optimally and creates jobs that are currently exported as a result of exporting raw minerals.
In his view, Botswana should aggressively invade Africa with locally manufactured products made from local resources especially that the country currently enjoys the kind of stability that a lot of other African countries can only dream of.
“We have the political, economic and financial stability to leverage us above the rest in Africa. Big corporates like Debswana should be encouraged to venture into other commercially viable activities apart from diamond mining. They should be able to go into coal mining and processing for the expansion of the economy. Debswana has goodwill and can easily venture into oil, copper and other minerals extraction and beneficiation for its own benefit and the national economy at large. That should be the way to go.”
He explained that Dombashaba ruins should be developed into a cultural centre of excellence because the foundation is already there. He is at a loss as to why Domboshaba has not been renovated into its past glory and turned into a tourist centre of attraction.
Butale expresses concern about the upbringing of children, which seems to be done without a moral compass. “Our children seem to be swimming in some pool of confusion. There is no respect for the elders like it was in the past. This modern socialization is not doing our children any good. It is incumbent upon us as parents to ensure that we do all in our power to bring up in our children in the most responsible manner. Socialization of the younger generation threatens to haunt us in the future.”
Butale further adds that the institution of chieftainship should also be revamped to resonate with modern socio-economic developments.
