28 Jan 2015

After the general elections last year in October, the dust has now settled in most constituencies and wards around the country. 

Losers’ battle-wounds have healed, while winners face the task of delivering to the electorates all the goodies they promised during the campaign.

However, in Ngware ward in the Letlhakeng-Lephepe constituency, the dust is still lingering in the air. After the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) pulled a tie during the general elections last year, the electorates will this Saturday have a second chance to make a decision.

The Botswana Congress Party has opted out of the re-run after weighing its chances, leaving the field of play solely to the two parties to slug it out. Both parties have been campaigning vigorously in the area with hardly a break during the festive season, and as the deadline looms, each candidate is confident that this time around, victory is certain.

At 47 years of age, the BDP candidate, Ms Ompeetse Legae believes she is the right candidate for the ward, given her track record especially in her native Ngware village.

“I grew up in this village and my track record is well known. I was at the helm of the VDC for five years before shifting my energies to the Village Health Committee. I later left and found employment in Gaborone as a cleaner at Maruapula Private School,” she said.

Ms Legae said when she left the two committees were very active.  She said while she was working in Gaborone, she then realised that her area was neglected in as far as developments were concerned.

“That is the main issue that drove me back home. The reason the area is underdeveloped is because it was under an opposition councillor for five years and he did not advocate for developments hard enough. That is the reason I decided to quit my job and sacrifice once more as I had done before,” she said.

Her main areas of concern, she said, would be the poor gravel roads. She cited the Ngware-Hatsalatladi, Ngware-Letlhakeng as well as Ngware-Shadishadi as the most concerning.

“We also have a challenge of water shortage in Shadishadi. Despite its size, the village currently depends on bowsed water, which is insufficient. In Ngware we need a maternity ward at the clinic,” she said.

Her main leverage, she said, was that she represented a stable party.  Asked why such did not work in her favour in the general elections, she said some of her followers were lost and that this time around, she was confident that she had regained them which will now boost her chances.

Her main nemesis is none other than her native villager. Having recently turned 44, Mr Ontatlhile Selatlho of UDC said he had done all that needed to be done to win the ward. Equipped with a Masters Degree in Public Administration, he said he possessed the right skills to deal with people, especially with his specialty in human resource management.

“This time around I have managed to work all corners of the ward that I missed last time, especially cattle posts that are hard to reach with conventional strategies like public rallies. I have also managed to reach about 97 per cent of registered electorates that failed to vote in the general elections,” he said, putting their number at just above 160.

He said while traversing the area, his main objective was to educate the people to distinguish between propaganda and reality.

“Although candidates represent parties, voters should learn to assess the ability of an individual above that of the party, because at the end of the day it is that individual that is expected to advocate for their interests,” he said.

He said if elected, his main objective would be to emancipate the youth in the ward through initiatives such as helping them attain artisan qualifications.

“If elected my target is that by December this year I should have helped at least two youths in each of the four villages of Ngware, Diphuduhudu, Shonono and Shadishadi to attain artisan skills in areas such as JCB operation. We have to appreciate that not everyone is good in theoretical subjects, some are only gifted in practicals,” he said.

Mr Selatlho is also concerned about shortage of water in the area, especially in the settlement of Shonono where he said government initiatives were failing as a result.

He said his intention was to assist the residents to acquire land where they could then apply for a borehole as a syndicate that would ease the problem of water shortage.

He concluded that civil servants in the area needed a person of his abilities to voice their concerns especially on the government of the day, and that he will also work tirelessly to connect the community and the civil servants to create a conducive working relationship.

On whether he saw his passage to the council chambers paved, he said the question did not need a referendum. “With the assessment and hard work I have put in the campaign, the job is as good as done,” he said.

Mr Selatlho also said he had a long record of working with the public, having worked among others, as a policeman before resigning in pursuit of further education. Politicians the world over are known for their insatiable confidence, never conceding the going is tough even when the writing is on the wall, and the two candidates are no different.

However, the electorates in the Ngware ward will this Saturday pass a verdict on whose confidence among the two was justifiable. ends