Mmadinare wants to be free
Onalenna Kelebeile | Friday October 7, 2016 16:12
Mmadinare residents say the fact that their constituency’s councillors are divided between the Palapye and the Bobirwa Sub-District Councils is affecting service delivery and weakening the area’s decision-making powers.
Mmadinare village, which is the constituency headquarters, falls under the Bobirwa sub-district council, located about 100 kilometres away. The Sub-District’s headquarters are located at Bobonong and that fact is an additional thorn in the flesh of Mmadinare villagers.
Of Mmadinare constituency’s wards, four fall under the Palapye Sub-District Council, while the others are under Bobirwa. While the arrangement was done for distance, villagers say it robs Mmadinare councillors of a platform to engage as a constituency, except when they join scores of others in the Central District Council.
The community of Mmadinare has used every available occasion to lobby for the establishment of a Rural Administration Centre (RAC) in their village to enhance service delivery. Villagers raise this issue in almost all kgotla meetings as they feel that developments are not distributed equitably between them and Bobirwa region, particularly Bobonong.
They complain that many development projects are concentrated in Bobonong, while their long promised RAC continues being a pipe dream. The issue was raised recently during a visit by National Assembly Speaker, Gladys Kokorwe, when one resident wondered why the internal roads project that has been going on in Bobonong, had not been brought to Mmadinare. Another resident said they find themselves dominated by Bobonong and also starved of developments. “To add salt to injury, we are forced to travel a long distance to access assistance from government offices in Bobonong sub-district council. “We just want to stand alone and push for the development of our village and Mmadinare constituency at large,” the man said at the meeting with Kokorwe.
Councillor Sylvester Masweu of Mmadinare/Robelela ward says the current arrangement disadvantages Mmadinare constituency because political decisions are made on numbers. “Bobirwa and Mmadinare are two different constituencies. So if you divide Mmadinare councillors across two sub councils, then you divide their decision-making power,” he says. He says in the sub-council, Bobirwa councillors debate and support each other as they have institutional knowledge of issues and relate to them on a daily basis. “A councillor from Mmadinare will not relate to issues of Bobirwa because they do not know them. These are issues that dilute our decision-making powers as Mmadinare constituency councillors. “We normally lack support on some issues because the numerical advantage is on the side of Bobirwa councillors. This is because some of us will be attending council sessions in Palapye. “Our budget is also divided between the sub-councils,” he adds. He further notes that the discrepancy results in a lack of consistency in terms of follow up of issues. “I tabled a motion to end this division in the just-ended full council meeting in Serowe, but it was shot down because Mmadinare councillors in Tswapong felt that it was easier and closer for them to fall under Palapye.” According to Masweu, no one from Mmadinare constituency has ever been elected the council chairman of Bobirwa sub-council because the numbers disadvantage them. Masweu says he is the first councillor from Mmadinare constituency to become the deputy council chairperson. “The only solution is for government to speed up the establishment of an RAC in Mmadinare or ultimately divide Mmadinare constituency into two.
“We are banking on the next delimitation exercise on this one. “Bitterness is growing daily during kgotla and village development committee meetings in Mmadinare over this issue and it has divided people unnecessarily.”
Bobirwa Sub-Council chairperson, Nathaniel Moribame is also of the view that Mmadinare should have its own RAC as soon as funds are available. He is aware that Mmadinare villagers want their own councillors under one sub-district council, for the purposes of efficient service delivery. “I suggest and recommend that Mmadinare should have its own RAC for purposes of servicing its people effectively. I have no qualms about it and it would be a good thing for Mmadinare to become independent. “People cannot be serviced effectively if councillors are divided between two sub-district councils.”