The Minister of Local Government, Peter Siele, has said that we are made up of different tribes and totems but we are all Batswana.
Siele, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ngwaketsi South, was addressing a Kgotla meeting in Mmankgodi last week after the residents (Bahurutshe) had protested to the President on the conclusions of the Delimitation Commission.
“This is a difficult issue which has reached the President and I am here on his behalf,” said Siele.
Bahurutshe last month wrote a letter to the Office of the President (OP), petitioning against the decision by the Delimitation Commission to bring Mmankgodi under Gabane. “You are now called Gabane-Mmankgodi and this will not deprive you of any of your rights and resources. You will just be treated equally; do not feel your dignity has been lowered,” explained Siele.
Bahurutshe want Ramaphatle and Kolobeng to be part of Mmankgodi, as has been the case before. They complained to the President that the Delimitation Commission intentionally did not award them these areas so as to lower their population.
“While other places grow in population, ours decreases and this is deliberately done so that we do not qualify in numbers to have our own Member of Parliament. We even asked to have our councilors increased and still that failed. We have two councilors but we are a big village,” said one of the community leaders.
In his explanation Siele said there is no smaller or bigger morafe (community) and added that laws in this country apply to all of us equally.
“We have a Constitution that governs us; every Motswana has the right to challenge it if he feels there is something not right,” said Siele.
He further stated that Section 64, Sub Section 1 of the Constitution explains what happens in 10 years when the population of a certain place has increased.
“It happened in 2011 when our national population increased from 1.8 million,” he said, adding that technology is used after assessment is done to separate the constituents. “The Delimitation Commission came to get your opinions like they did countrywide. Every morafe had a report spelling out their opinion,” said Siele.
He added that Mmankgodi had requested to be a constituency and voting centre but it never materialized because the Delimitation Commission did not recognize it as a constituency.
“That is why you are all wearing sad faces,” said Siele, adding that they are not the only place that did not get their wish. He said people think that the President has all powers but the way the constitution is, is how the delimitation commission concluded. “No one can overrule or overturn their decision,” he said.
Siele said people keep being asked to move, to make way for developments and cited, as examples, Lobatse-Good Hope, Chobe-Maun, Kgatleng-Tlokweng and Gaborone- Ramotswa.
He said things will change as time goes-on.
“Your request has been taken by the Government but the Government is handcuffed and cannot overturn the constitution,” said Siele.
He added that there is no unfairness being meted out on Bahurutshe and pointed out that their Tribal Administration will not change.
Siele said Bahurutshe should not have the mind not to vote because their vote is not being taken from them; he urged them not to approach the election with mixed emotions because “later you may regret”.
A rather upset resident, Mozambia Dibe, said Mmankgodi has not been given any National Development Projects and they have been told that the President will not set his foot in Mmankgodi.
“We wish to know the truth,” demanded Dibe.
Councilor Dumase Mafoko (BNF), on the other hand, said Bahurutshe want to be grouped as a whole tribe not to have little groups of their tribe being thrown inside other tribes.
Siele, in his answers, said he was not aware that the president had not visited them.
“I shall remind him,” he said, adding that they should understand the financial constraints experienced by Botswana.
“We still lack the P7 billion needed to patch up the government finances,” said Siele.
