The general elections are over and Batswana have chosen their preferred leaders. It is therefore very important that we respect the choices made by the majority of the voters. That we didn’t support certain candidates became irrelevant immediately after the results were announced and that should cease to dominate our debates. Batswana have given us leaders and we should learn to do with what we now have, regardless of our views on those leaders.
We should allow these leaders to prove their worth. We should not be pre-judgmental on their performance as leaders. Let us test-drive them before we can offer our reviews on their performance. Look, it’s no secret that prior to the general elections, I was of the view the people of Tonota must bring back Pono Moatlhodi to parliament and deny Thapelo Olopeng that privilege. The people of Tonota cast their vote and it turned out they held a different view from mine.
They see Olopeng as more capable to lead them when compared to Moatlhodi and Themba Joina. I wish to make it clear that I respect all the candidates who won in the recent elections. The elections were declared free and fair and that means everyone who won in the elections now occupies their political office legitimately.
I may have not supported Olopeng’s candidature but I now owe the man some respect, as a legitimately elected representative. Unlike some people who are in parliament because of being favoured for special nomination by the President, Olopeng is in Parliament because the majority of people in Tonota wanted him there. After that silly court case that delayed parliament business, everything is now back to normal and parliamentarians have started to make their contributions in parliament.
Many of them have already delivered their speeches in response to President Khama’s State of the Nation Address. Most of those who have already made their contributions gave brilliant and insightful deliberations. Some of them didn’t surprise me with their eloquent and well researched deliberations. I mean, when people such as Ndaba Gaolathe, Duma Boko, Tawana Moremi, Phenyo Butale and Wynter Mmolotsi make great submissions in parliament, full of substance, it doesn’t surprise me because that is exactly what I had expected from them and that is why I had always rallied behind them during the election campaign.
My focus is now on those parliamentarians that I was of the view they didn’t deserve to be sent to parliament. After the general elections, I told myself that I would pay more attention on the performance of parliamentarians that I held in low regard during the election campaign. For instance, and like I have already stated, Olopeng didn’t have my support and it is people like him that I will be scrutinising so that I can understand why other people felt they deserved to be sent to parliament. To be honest, some of us only judged Olopeng based on his close association with President Khama. We didn’t draw the line between Olopeng the president’s friend and Olopeng the parliamentary candidate.
He was just guilty by association. In fact some of us even made noise when he was appointed by Khama to a ministerial post. We forgot to appreciate that the man legitimately made it to parliament and just like anyone who makes it to parliament, is legible for ministerial appointment. Yes Khama may have appointed him on the basis they are friends but why don’t we leave room for another thought that Khama may have appointed him using the same criteria he used to appoint all other ministers, many of whom can’t be said to be his friends. I listened to Olopeng’s maiden speech in parliament and I must say I was very impressed. Yes, Olopeng just like many BDP puppets in parliament couldn’t resist the urge to praise or protect Khama in his deliberation but I was impressed by his overall approach. It is very commendable that Olopeng centered his message on unity. Olopeng urged his colleagues in parliament to work together and bring collective ideas for the betterment of this country.
To me, that was a very powerful statement that deserves commendation. We have seen in the past how brilliant ideas that were meant for the betterment of this country were rejected just because they came from opposition members. It is therefore refreshing to hear someone from the ruling party call for unity in the best interest of the country.
More refreshing is the fact the call was made by not just an ordinary parliamentarian but came from Olopeng who has close links with the president, the ultimate decider on how the ruling party MP’s must conduct themselves in parliament. From his speech, it would appear Olopeng has hit the ground running as he shared his vision on what he intends to do as minister responsible for the youth in the country. By commending Olopeng for a great start in parliament, I’m just trying to show that it is not wrong to give credit where it is due. Some of us don’t just criticise for the fun of it. We criticise so that people can learn from their mistakes and when the people we have always criticised show some positive shift, we find no shame in applauding them.
Olopeng ended his speech by calling on everyone to respect President Khama. Olopeng is right but he needs to know that respect is not a donation you go around begging for. Respect is earned.
