Phew! Finally I get to write the final piece for this year. It was a year full of drama and trauma with politicians defecting, lying and dying while some got prosecuted for corruption. Oh and yes some were forced into retirement by ill health.
Writing a column every week, all year, is no child’s play and I don’t know where I would have gotten my material were it not for our politicians who never fail to give me something to write about. I know very well that I am not the favorite columnist to a lot of our politicians.
It was deliberate that my column dwelled more on their negatives while ignoring their insignificant positives. It was nothing personal. All I was trying to do was to make them work harder and understand that they are accountable to us, the electorates.
I have realized that our politicians have more praise singers than constructive critics. That is not good for our politics. It is not good for our politicians either. In fact it is not good for our country. Real leaders get worried when they get only praises without any criticism, all the time.
Only fools get excited when everyone agrees to all of their actions and decisions, all the time. It should get any right-thinking leader worried when everyone ululates to all of their decisions without a single dissent.
Over the last twelve months I have written about our politicians and expressed my views on their behavior and attitude. Some of them displayed so much arrogance in their line of duty you would have thought they were born to occupy the positions they currently hold. Some of them made stupid remarks that must have left their children embarrassed. Some of them changed political parties so rapidly they took the crown from prostitutes who hop from one bed to the next for as long as they get rewarded for it.
A lot of our politicians made public utterances that clearly warrant for lies and deceit to be made a requisite for politics. We still remember when Botsalo Ntuane told us that he had left the BDP because the party’s rule would come to an end in the next general elections only for him to go back to the same party.
We still remember when Robert Masitara told us that he would step down as Member of Parliament if his party was to lose the Sebele by-election only for him to continue as Mp after his party lost the elections. We remember how President Khama promised us that he will have no room for non performers in his Cabinet only for him to turn around and reward those non performers.
We remember when Kentse Rammidi vowed to quit politics if the opposition ‘umbrella’ was to fail only for him to turn into a political prostitute. Talking of Rammidi, I really feel sad for the guy. I bet he regrets his resignation from the BDP.
He has since turned from a hero to a zero. Rammidi should use the festive break to take stock of his political life. Rammidi should seriously consider retracing his steps back into the BDP where he appeared relevant to our politics. I’m surprised that while Rammidi came across as liberal and vocal while at the BDP, his flame has dimmed ever since he joined the BCP.
There are times when I even forget he still exists. Yes, I know he recently tabled a successful motion in parliament calling for the probe into the operations of BMC but in all honesty, Rammidi is politically finished. All hope is not lost though for Rammidi . His star has been overshadowed by Dumelang Saleshando at the BCP and it would only be wise for him to either continue ‘walking’ and join the only party left for him: MELS or better still, retrace his steps back to the BDP where he was a hero.
And then there is Ponatshego Kedikilwe. Reports suggest he is being coerced into taking up the post of Speaker of the National Assembly. It is also reported that some people in the BDP want him to stand for the party chairmanship. Kedikilwe must use this festive break to make the right decision on those offers. I will be shocked and disappointed if Kedikilwe agrees to take up any of those positions. Kedikilwe has told the nation that he will be quitting active politics come 2014 and as such I don’t expect him to act like most of our politicians who backtrack on their decisions and give silly excuses like “the people have asked me to stay on”.
Kedikilwe will be demoting himself were he to accept nomination for either Speaker of National Assembly or BDP Chairmanship. Mokgweetsi Masisi is one other politician who needs to make serious resolutions for the New Year. He should come back a changed man and stop acting like Khama’s aunt who could be excused for defending Khama at all costs.
BDP members should also draw inspiration from the ongoing ANC elective congress where even the incumbent president is being challenged. I have never understood why BDP members feel it is a sin to challenge a sitting president.
Lastly, it’s a shame that some of us will be spending the festive break outside the country not because we don’t love our country but only because Khama’s government has taken away the merry in the festive season. I must be honest and state that I feel more free and jolly when I’m in South Africa or Namibia than when I’m here at home.
Our neighboring countries do not condone lawlessness. They too do not allow drunken driving but the difference is, unlike here, their police officers are more concerned on protecting the citizens than making entertainment life difficult for citizens. To all the loyal readers of this column, I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy 2013.
