22 Oct 2014

Some youth in Francistown have stated that they are discouraged from registering and voting because politicians have a tendency of failing to deliver on their promises. 

Speaking in a debate organised by The Voice newspaper on October 20, one of the youth, Ms Lorato Letsholo said when politicians canvassed for votes, they promised a lot but after occupying the political offices, they never fulfilled the promises.

Another youth, Ms Kelebogile Chilume said the youth voted in small numbers because they had a general perception that the politicians engaged in politics for their own benefit instead of those of the voters.

She noted that most of the politicians entered politics as a form of employment not because they really had a heart to change the voters’ lives. Ms Gorata Jonas said the youth were faced with many challenges such as unemployment and they kept on wondering what the parties would do to address the situation once voted into power.

In response, a Botswana Congress Party (BCP) parliamentary candidate for Shashe West, Mr Motlhaleemang Moalosi said political parties should not be painted with the same brush of not delivering.

Mr Moalosi accused the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) for failing to deliver on its promises and called on voters to give his party a chance to prove that it can be trusted.

He said it was untrue that politicians go into politics for personal gain citing that he had a lucrative job as an engineer but decided to go into politics in order to play a role in the development of the voters and the constituency.

Mr Moalosi said his party was concerned about the unemployment rate and the party’s initiative dubbed “bring back our jobs” is aimed at ensuring that all the natural resources in the country are used to create employment opportunities for Batswana.

The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Francistown South parliamentary candidate, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi concurred that the BDP had failed to fulfill its promises. He said the voters should trust the UDC to deliver whatever it has promised.

On the issue of politicians getting into political office for personal gain, Mr Mmolotsi said some people do get into politics as a form of employment but some particularly the young ones get into politics because they have a burning desire to offer a service.

He said the UDC is the only party that can bring a solution to the challenges of unemployment as it will align the education system to the needs of the economy, and also utilises the existing natural resources to create employment opportunities. For his part, the BDP parliamentary candidate for Francistown West, Mr Ignatius Moswaane said for the past 48 years his government hadbeen fulfilling its promises.

Mr Moswaane said one of the promises that his party made was education for all and to achieve that, the intake at the University of Botswana has been increasing over the years. He said his party also sponsors students to study in privately owned institutions such as Botho College, ABM and others.

He, however, said his party could not fulfill all its promises because it was faced with the economic crisis, but noted that the promises had not been abandoned but suspended until such a time that the economy recovers.

Mr Moswaane said his government would continue to address the problem of unemployment. He concurred that some politicians occupy political offices for personal benefits, he however, said not of all them to do that.

For his part, an independent parliamentary candidate in the Shashe West constituency, Mr Onkabetse Daniel noted that the independent candidates have realised that most politicians fail to fulfill their promises because they are governed by their party manifestos. Mr Daniel agreed that some politicians go into office for their personal interest.

The moderator of the debate, Ms Margaret Mosojane said the debate was aimed at finding the root cause of voter apathy among the youth.

She noted that failing to register and vote denies one a democratic right of choosing who should govern. Ms Mosojane said it was very important for everybody to register and vote regardless of whether they are members of political parties or not, adding that it was only through a vote that they could bargain for the future. ENDS