His nickname ‘Taosi’ graces the lips of prospective voters throughout his home village of Thamaga. Motaosane, a backbencher who broke Thamaga’s long history of producing ministers is admired in these parts despite his lowly educational qualifications. Motaosane is a Junior Secondary School Certificate (JC) holder. Those who know him will tell you that he never forgets where he comes from nor who he represents. Motaosane, who evolved from serving as a councillor for Thamaga North ward to becoming a Member of Parliament (MP), has shown himself to be a people’s person and is known for bringing himself to the masses’ level. The man is approachable and still attends social gatherings in the constituency, a thing he did as a councillor for 15 years between 2004 and 2019. Motaosane’s loyalists in the area say he has proved, time and again, that it is important to connect with people at a personal level. Residents of Thamaga-Kumakwane’s concerns have always been that ministerial appointments delayed developments to their area as the MPs had to also deal with their ministerial assignments, so they saw Motaosane’s backbench role as a blessing in disguise. Despite having to take a back seat in President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s administration for five years, Motaosane showed that he can still draw big and enthusiastic crowds when he crushed his opponents in the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primaries earlier in July.
Motaosane finished way ahead with 3, 404 votes while his supposed main challenger, Tiro Lepotokisi trailed a distant second with 997 votes. Setshwano Mokgweetsinyana had 204 while the only female candidate, Reetsang Mhitshane polled 196 votes. Motaosane is not new to thrashing his opponents, so in 2019 when he first entered the National Assembly, he registered a landslide against Kefentse Khumomotse of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), polling more than 13, 000 votes while the latter was way behind at just above 3, 000. This time around, Motaosane faces UDC’s Kopano Rannatshe and the indication is that the latter does not stand a chance against the revered Motaosane. During the launch, Vice President (VP) Slumber Tsogwane told the crowd at Thamaga Primary Hospital grounds that Motaosane was one of the dedicated and truthful MPs in the just ended 12th Parliament. Although he did not say it outrightly, Tsogwane said having Motaosane in the backbench worked for the BDP because he had to serve in multiple Parliamentary committees after opposition MPs abandoned the duties in protests. Since ministers cannot sit in the committees, Tsogwane indicated that Motaosane had a lot on his plate while at the same time serving his constituents in Thamaga-Kumakwane. Tsogwane highlighted that Motaosane showed that MPs can still do a lot without serving in the Cabinet.
“This is a man who knows how to serve people and he has done so at the local government level. He understands it all when we talk about rural development,” Tsogwane told the crowd. Meanwhile, former Mogoditshane legislator and minister, Tumiso Rakgare, who hails from Thamaga described Motaosane as a role model to all. “Motaosane has been an uncle figure for many people, myself included. We have looked up to him for advice, guidance and leadership over the years,” he said. Rakgare said it would be perilous for the people of Thamaga to vote for Rannatshe instead of Motaosane. During the launch, the Minister of Defence and Security, Kagiso Mmusi, said the constituency is very significant to him because his late father and former vice President, Peter Mmusi, was an MP for the area previously called Kweneng South. The third vice president of Botswana, Peter, held the constituency until his death before the 1994 elections. Former Speaker, Gladys Kokorwe then took over from 1994 until 2009. Notably, Motaosane’s launch was attended by Lepotokise whom he beat in the primaries and former area legislator and long time ally, Dr John Seakgosing. During the 2009 BDP primaries, Motaosane, who was a councillor then, was very instrumental in Seakgosing’s win against former MP, Tshenolo Mabeo. Mabeo later returned in 2014 to oust Seakgosing in the primaries, a move which did not sit well with Motaosane. In 2019 BDP primaries, ‘Taosi’ abandoned the council duties, aimed for a higher seat and managed to beat Mabeo at first trial and continued his elections invincibility from the local government to Parliament. If he wins the constituency, which has been a BDP stronghold since the first Parliament, Motaosane will become the first person since former area MP Kokorwe, to serve in Thamaga-Kumakwane for more than one term. Both Seakgosing and Mabeo served only one term.
In the just dissolved Parliament, Motaosane was a legislative workhorse whose questions were mostly directed towards helping his constituency especially the issues of poor roads and youth unemployment. Up until the Thamaga-Molepolole unnavigable road was finally completed, members of the opposition had grilled Motaosane for failing to raise his voice loudly enough in Parliament. Despite Thamaga’s proximity to the capital city, Gaborone, the residents feel that the village is lacking developments with no significant malls and few employment opportunities. At the launch, Motaosane’s plea was that he needs more time to push through projects and that his mind never strayed from the people of his beloved constituency during the past five years. In terms of the 12th Parliament light moments, Motaosane is up there and most can remember his 2020 quarrel with fellow MP, Ignatius Moswaane. Overall, Motaosane remains a political institution and a force to reckon with in Thamaga-Kumakwane because many still sing his praise.
