Mystery surrounds a decision by the Ministry of Agriculture to build a dam inside a private farm that doubles as a tourism resort owned by a leading ruling party politician in Gabane, Ernest Bokete.
Bokete is a campaign Manager for Duke Masilo who is putting on a strong show to unseat incumbent Member of Parliament, Mmoloki Raletobana.
Masilo is a long time Senior Private Secretary to President Ian Khama.
He only retired from the civil service recently long after his political ambitions had become public.
When contacted how government had come to build a dam inside his farm, Bokete said it was part of compensation.
When pushed what he was being compensated for, he said he needed permission from the Ministry of Agriculture before he could talk further.
For their part, the Ministry of Agriculture said the dam is part of government initiative to conserve soil in arable fields.
“The main objectives of the section is to construct diversational [sic] channels of water in fields to control the challenges caused by water erosion. In addition the section also constructs retention ponds which are meant to retain water flow which is exactly what is being done at Mr Enerst Bokete’s farm,” said a statement by a Public affairs officer at the ministry, Boikhutso Rabasha.
“For your publication to appreciate why the assistance, note that Mr Bokete’s farm is located on a steep area and thus facing challenges of heavy water erosion in his farm which affects his production negatively. Note that this rehabilitation is not only going [to] benefit Mr Bokete alone as two more retention ponds have been constructed in the same catchment area thus benefiting the farming community of Tloaneng,” said Rabasha.
Residents of Tloaneng are however not amused by Government’s generosity to Mr. Bokete, who like Masilo is a former military man who they perceive as too close to the president especially through the connection of President Khama’s former Private Secretary.
The ministry contradicted Bokete’s assertion that the dam formed a part of compensation due to him.
“This is not the first time MoA has worked on rehabilitating land for farmers as has been indicated above. There [are] many such projects around country. The reconstruction of land is not in any way compensation but it is meant to assist farmers to have better production in their fields which are faced with the challenge of soil erosion,” said Rabasha.
For some residents of Tloaneng, the decision to build a dam in a private farm echoes resonance to the ongoing controversy over an airfield that Botswana Defence Force is building for President Khama in Mosu.
“Khama’s men have now copied the president’s strategy for themselves,” said a member of the Village Development Committee at Tloaneng.
