The Assistant Minister of Local Government, Maxwell Motowane, last week expressed worry over unending wars over chieftaincy in some areas of Botswana.
Motowane revealed his concern when addressing hordes of people who attended the inauguration ceremony of Chief Bakani Mampori of Marapong, in the Tonota North Constituency.
“While chieftaincy plays a tremendous role in our communities, there are those people who would love to destroy chiefs and cause conflicts which have made chieftaincy a difficult thing in this country today,” he said.
He warned the newly inaugurated Chief to be always strong and tough, to heed the call and needs of his people and unite the people of Marapong.
The Assistant Minister also advised the chief to cooperate and work hand in hand with other villages and build an effective leadership.
He said that some of the challenges which bestow Chieftaincy is that although chiefs are supposed to conduct trials, there are some individuals who want it the other way round for the chiefs to be tried themselves, which then deviates from the purpose of chiefdom.
“I want to urge Chief Mampori to also work hand in hand with the elders and academics from this village and share ideas on how to make your position as chief easier,” he added.
He praised the Chief’s record of handling cases saying that it shows that he does his job very well as indicated by the rate of crime in the village. He encouraged him to carry on with the spirit. ┬á
Motowane said that since January 2007, the Police register shows that 76 cases from Marapong were registered and most of these cases have been solved.
“The rate of solved cases in this village is very high, which shows that the Chief is doing his job,” he concluded.
The Chief also received advice from several chiefs from the nearby villages to always seek help from them if there is need.
