Editor,
The special nomination of councilors that has just been announced cannot go unchallenged.
There is no doubt that this process needs to be either revamped or scraped outright. It is clear that the system is being abused by the minister responsible and his cohorts.
The nominations do not have the blessing of the entire BDP. I have been a BDP card carrying member for the past 18 years and I have lost confidence in the system of special nominations. I have never had any problem with the BDP having the majority of slots of nominated Councilors as that will commensurate with the number of votes the BDP always garners at elections.
However, I have a serious problem with the quality of people nominated in the past two to three elections; we have seen individuals nominated strictly along BDP factional lines.
Firstly, more than 80% of the individuals who have been nominated are aligned to the BDP A-team and that has been confirmed by reliable contacts in all the constituencies that were contacted.
Out of 80%, around 60% of those don’t have any special skills ÔÇô this is a conservative figure as it was difficult to confirm with certainty what skills some individuals have. However 60% is quite a high figure given the fact that the principle for nomination as per the guiding instrument is that nominated individuals must have special skills that would benefit District councils or parliament in the case of specially nominated members of parliament.
The most glaring nomination of all is that of a certain Mr John Mazabathi Mokandla, a BDP Head office driver cum-actor, who was rejected by the electorates twice in 2004 and during this past election. What special skills does Mr Mkandla posses that will assist in taking the developments of Gaborone to the next level? It is so disheartening that Gaborone residents overwhelmingly voted for BDP and instead of making sure that they are given quality people to drive and support the key socio-economic strategies for the city, all the Minister and his cohort could do was to give them a driver .How sickening and insulting!
There is no doubt that there are a number of people that have been strategically nominated to give them an upper hand in preparation for the 2013Primary Elections. Shima Monageng in Molepoloie South, Kabo Sebele in Molepolole North, Keneilwe Mathangwane in Tonota North, Tshotego diphetogo in Palapye, Rupert Hambira in Gaborone West South, Trinity Bogatsu in Tonota South, Fairbridge Pule in Ngwaketse West and many others. This is a clear strategy by the ‘A’ Team to sideline other capable citizens.
Rewards are streaming in for other individuals too who too have passed the test as sycophants and bootlickers par excellence! Why would Moagisi Alan Lekwapa, residing in Mmadinare, Kefentse Mzwinila, residing in Gaborone/Mmadinare and Kitso Seloma, residing in Gaborone/Tswapong, be nominated for Sowa Township Authority? What special skills do these individuals possess to deserve to be deployed from that far when there are hundreds of people in that area who would add more value.
Kgomotso Seduke is another well known A-team member who has been nominated to the Sowa Township Authority. One wonders what outstanding value she added in the past term such that she deserved to be nominated again.
It remains a mystery why Tiro Seloma, who is an instrumental person in that area was left out. Some of these individuals were recently rewarded by being nominated into the BDP sub committees. One wonders what happened to other hundreds of Batswana who are equally and even more capable and what happened to president Khama’s view that people shouldn’t hold more than one demanding portfolio as that is counter productive.
Batswana should start pushing back against such evil deeds. It is quite clear that there is a deliberate onslaught on the nation at large. It will be naïve to think that this is an onslaught on Barata Phathi per se.
The perpetrators may in their minds think that they are punishing Barata Phathi, but this is an onslaught on the nation at large. Batswana across all political divides must be worried and must act now.
Batswana in all constituencies must organize themselves and demand to know what special skills all these nominated councilors and some members of parliament possess.
If it means government re-calling some of these people, so be it. Let it be, but that cannot happen when concerned citizens of this democratic republic don’t act. We cannot sit back and watch as fatshe la rona, Boswa jwa bana ba rona, is being destroyed.
Enough is enough.
Anonymous
(for fear of being victimized)
