16 Mar 2020

Transport mogul, Ms Talita Monnakgotla, has said it is not by sheer luck to be where she is in life, but it was through ‘courage and confidence’.

 In an interview with BOPA, Ms Monnakgotla a woman who wears four hats, being a legislator, wife, mother and an entrepreneur, the roles, said the roles were the most challenging tasks a human being could undertake.

 As a Member of Parliament for Kgalagadi North constituency, she said through the support she got from her family and quality time management, she was able to perform her duties diligently.

Born and bred in Hukuntsi in the 1960, she was raised by a virtuous woman whom she said was a business orientated person and an active politician, the qualities that she prided herself to have inherited from her mother.

She therefore, encouraged women to lead by example in their homestead, saying their active participation in life changing forms would in the long run ignite some inspiration in their children.

A Diploma holder in laboratory technology who joined Botswana Police Service in 1994 as a laboratory technician, the job that she said she served ‘wholeheartedly’ for eight years.

She said that throughout her eight years’ service, she always had that burning desire of venturing into business until she took a decision to hang up her gloves in 2002 and ventured in transport business.

She said it was a common belief that women belonged at home to bear children and take care of the family, while men were expected to be the only ones who could venture into business world.

She said she took it upon herself to defy the odds, and enter the male dominated business world.

Together with her husband they established a transport business trading as AT &T Monnakgotla travel and tours, the business she says was now sustainable.

She cautioned that running a business was not awalk in the park, as she said they had to sweat water and blood to establish such a reputable business.

Ms Monnakgotla encouraged women and youth to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams, and be at the forefront to tap into opportunities availed by poverty eradication programmes.

She encouraged women to value partnerships and networking with others, a move she said would aid in promoting their recognition as entrepreneurs’.

Their recognition, she said would help increase their visibility and ultimately the world would have confidence in their businesses.

She however, cautioned that business was prone to risks, therefore, she encouraged women not to throw in the towel when the going gets tough, but to learn from the challenges.

“Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life more interesting,” she said.

Moreover, Ms Monnakgotla implored women not to fear partaking in politics and thinking that only males should take the lead.

She encouraged them to overstep their mark and promote women’s dignity by contesting in large numbers, to prove to the whole world that they too can be bestowed with powers to lead the nation. Ends