Ntlhaile Reads Sabotage In Reatile, Raletobane raw deal
Lebogang Baingapi | Monday November 20, 2017 18:10
Also not sparred was the District Commissioner, Mmoloki Raletobane. Ntlhaile and Reatile are eyeing the constituency in the 2019 general elections. Ntlhaile is accusing Reatile and Raletobana of stirring politics amongst civil servants and influencing them to sabotage him.
When giving a vote of thanks at an event where Reatile was the guest speaker, Ntlhaile rather deviated from the role to speak about how bad the civil servant, especially of Mabutsane sub-district, were treating him. He sent a stiff warning to them to stop sabotaging him, which in turn led to poverty and poor uptake of government programmes in the district.
“You must leave politics to the politicians and serve the public. Why am I the last person to know about this event? I am sending a sound message to all of you to refrain from such a bad practice. The District Commissioner should resign from his post and face me at freedom squares than to use the government office to pursue political agendas,” he said, using a harsh tone to warn Raletobana, who is the former MP for Gabane under Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
He quizzed Reatile why he is talking about the district’s high poverty level yet he spent 10 years at Parliament doing nothing. He called everybody to order and told Raletobana and civil servants to stop the mess they are causing to Mabutsane sub-district. It was not the first time Ntlhaile expressed his displeasure about the poor cooperation between him and Mabutsane civil servants.
In other recent meetings, he castigated them for failing to attend when he called them to the Kgotla, preferring to accompany BDP leaders on their political missions, yet people voted him to his current position.
On a different, but related incident, Ntlhaile was left out of the programme at a donation event in Kanaku settlement near Mabutsane where Reatile was also present. In the presence of Ntlhaile, the ward councillor, Keberekile Pule gave a vote of thanks. The MP subsequently wrote a letter to the state media through his office, in Jwaneng to remind them of the protocol and order of precedence.
The letter suggested that priority was given to the MP during events than a ward councillor when allocating roles. Reatile and Raletobana elected not to comment. Reatile who served the constituency for 10 years under Botswana National Front (BNF), is expected to contest again in 2019.
He defected to the BDP before the 2009 general elections and lost to Ntlhaile of Umbrella for Democratic Change.
He was later nominated specially elected MP early this year following an amendment of the Constitution.