UDC, BCP square off again
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday June 12, 2023 06:00
The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Gagoope Sebina of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) who bagged the constituency with 633 votes in the 2019 elections.
Sebina was followed by Gaolathe Kenosi of the UDC with 527 votes and Ntebang Pelothomogi of the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) with 303 votes while Patrick Moji of the Alliance Progressives (AP) came last with 145 votes. Kenosi will be trying his luck for the second time but the odds seem to be stacked against him.
This is so because the BCP is currently at loggerheads with its parent organisation, UDC. The UDC was composed of the Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana People’s Party (BPP) and BCP when it contested the 2019 polls.
The AP and BPF have now joined the UDC in what some observers say is a move akin to a “political marriage of convenience”. The BCP will surely traverse a bumpy road to win the ward following the seismic change of dynamics in the country’s political landscape. The UDC and BCP have over recent years exchanged barbs in relation to democracy and constitutionalism in the coalition amongst others.
This is despite the fact that their ideologies are similar.
The duo has been at the centre of a political firestorm over the above issues which caused the BCP to ditch the UDC and subsequently contest against it in several by-elections. Most of the by-elections were won by the UDC although the BCP polled good numbers which show that its support base is still active. This is despite the fact that the UDC has been haemorrghing the BCP by poaching some of its councillors. It is now public knowledge that the BCP intends to contest the 2024 general polls outside the UDC.
The BCP has stated that its move to contest the 2024 General Election outside the UDC is ‘influenced by the fact that the latter has not addressed issues of good governance and constitutionalism amongst others within it ranks’. The UDC is strenuously denying these claims. While the situation on the ground in Mmaphula East seems to favour the UDC to clinch the ward notwithstanding the fact that politics is a game of surprises, the BCP and BDP are both confident of clinching it.
Kenosi, 60, was confident of victory when asked to sample his chances of winning the ward this time around. When unpacking his political playbook, Kenosi, who worked at the Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM) first as a dump truck (excavator) operator from 1987 to 2004, said that there are a litany of challenges that he will urgently address once voted into office although his list was not exhaustive. “The roads in the ward are in a very poor state because it is located where Palapye was extended. Unfortunately, infrastructure development in the ward pales in comparison with how the village has developed and grown.
We don’t have street lights in Mmaphula. This situation is contributing to the spiraling crime rates in the ward especially at night. There is a bush between Extension 1 and 8 which needs to be debushed because it is putting the lives of people in danger. Criminals hide in the bush before robbing people. Also, transport operators don’t want to ferry people to Mmaphula.
The transporters’ gripe is that the roads will damage their cars because they are in a very poor condition,” said Kenosi, who later acquired a Blasting Licence whilst at OLDM which saw him promoted to the position of supervisor. Kenosi, who also had a stint at Fourie Investments from 2014 where he was also supervising truck drivers, vowed to make sure that a clinic is built in Mmaphula if he is given the reins of power. “The lack of a medical facility in Mmaphula is forcing residents to travel long distances to Palapye Primary Hospital and Extension 3 Clinic to seek for medical assistance. The school infrastructure of our primary school is dilapidated.
The chairs and windows are broken. This situation forces learners to sit on the floor and needs urgent attention because it makes the condition of learning not conducive. I will also strive to develop a healthy working relationship with the Ward Development Committee (WDC) and other stakeholders such as the police to address the issue of crime and other vices that are prevalent in Mmaphula. Old age pensioners also travel long distances to get their pensions whilst there is no public transport to ferry them to and from the ward.
I will strive to address this issue urgently to accord the pensioners the dignity they deserve for having served the country well for many years. The indiscriminate disposal of litter is one of the issues that I will also address urgently because it poses health risks to the community. I will advocate for litter bins that people commonly refer to as skips to be put at strategic places within the ward to prevent the problem of indiscriminate disposal of waste,” vowed Kenosi who is now a farmer. For his part, UDC aspiring councillor Mompoloki Mohutsiwa said the high rate of unemployment especially amongst the youth in Mmaphula is giving him sleepless nights.
He stated that unemployment leads some youth to abuse alcohol and drugs. “I recently went to meet officials of Troylin Vocational Institute in Gaborone to come and impart the skills of soap, candle and poultry feed making among others to Mmaphula youth. If voted to council, I will look for a place where all the youth who received various skills from Troylin will showcase their talent to generate income for themselves,” said the 41-year-old Mohutsiwa who received in-house training in paint mixing and spray painting from ChemSec. “This will go a long way in reducing the high rate of unemployment in our ward. I am also helping football, netball and volleyball teams within our ward.
If voted to council, I will endeavour to impart various skills to the players in order to make the teams self-sustaining.” Mohutsiwa is also planning to address the burning issue of roads in the ward which he said are impassable not only during the rainy season. “We also have a problem of bushes in our area that put the lives of residents in danger. If voted to council, I will make sure that the bushes are debushed as a matter of urgency. We also have a dam in Dikabeya that is used as the main source of water.
The dam is silted for most of the time. If voted as a councillor, I will work hand in hand with the relevant authorities to make sure that it is desilted and has clean water throughout the year. The health post at Dikabeya will also be part of my immediate priorities if I am voted to council. It is used for measuring the body weight of children and also by the elderly to get their pensions. The health post should have a shelter where the elderly will sit while waiting to get their pensions. I will also advocate that another room should be built to reduce congestion especially during month end when pensioners come to get their pensions,” said Mohutsiwa.
Mohutsiwa also explained that there is a centre in the ward that can be used by the youth to empower themselves through various skills to put bread on the table. “The facility is currently used by social welfare officers and the ward development committee. I believe the facility can be better used by the youth to economically empower themselves. There is a problem of litter that is scattered everywhere in our locality. When voted as a councillor, I organise cleanliness competitions in all our localities within the ward as one of the ways to tackle this problem,” said Mohutsiwa who has also studied short business courses at the Business Place in conjunction with Pinnacle Business Solutions. On the other hand, the BDP candidate Andrew Makarapa Phalalo is for continuity.
Phalalo said he will continue the projects that the late Sebina had started in the ward. He stated that the tender for the construction of the road network in Extension 2 and 5 has been allocated and he added that the roads will be tarred. Likewise, Phalalo, 47, was happy to state that the tender for the construction of Botloung Primary School in Extension 5 has been awarded. He however stated that the tender for the construction of the sewerage network is in the pipeline and vouched to make sure that it is allocated once he is voted on June 24. “I will also address the issue of the stench that affects the people of Extension 1.
Officials from the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) have promised us that they will use chemicals to neutralise the smell,” said Phalalo. He holds a certificate in Computer Studies from Palapye Technical College (PTC) that he obtained in 1993. Just like his competitors, Phalalo is also concerned about criminal activities in the ward because the area is bushy. He however explained that the problem can partly be solved if people who were allocated plots in the ward also debush their homes. “I will work hand in hand with people who are employed under the Ipelegeng programme to debush part of the ward. The issue of the construction of a clinic in the ward is another issue that the late Sebina was so passionate about.
I will continue to advocate that it should be constructed. I will also fight that Extension 8 and 9 have their own Village Development Committee (VDC) which is detached from the VDC of the ward. This is so because the population of our ward has greatly increased. The installation of tower lights is also one of my major priorities. Currently, there are three tower lights in the ward and we plan to install others in Extension 8,9,10 and 11,” an optimistic Phalalo underscored. Phalalo is also a holder of the National Craft Certificate (Artisan Fitter) that he obtained from PTC between 1995 and 1999. He worked at BCL from 2000 until 2016 when the mine was closed.