26 Aug 2024

Prospective parliamentary candidates for the Mahalapye West have described Mahalapye as best location for industrialisation and cultural diversity.

The prospective candidates shared their views during the Radio Botswana parliamentary debates at Madiba Senior Secondary School on Friday.

They include Mr Goabaone Ntapu of  Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Mr Agobakwe Magapa  of Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), Mr David Tshere of  the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), Mr Moncho Moncho  of Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and  Mr Reginald Kadiwa  of Botswana Republican Party (BRP).

The incumbent area MP Mr Tshere said if elected his government would serve the interests of the people by building strong and robust democratic institutions.

He appealed to Mahalapye West constituents to vote for him in the next elections to continue where he left off.

Mr Tshere said his party would revive the fortunes of the village and improve the livelihoods of citizens. He noted that infrastructure development such as internal roads and drainage system were a challenge in Mahalapye.

His other areas of commitment were to transform the public health  and the education system as well as to expand opportunities for Batswana through policies and strategies that availed services and resources for growth.

Mr Ntapu of BDP told the audience that ever since Mahalapye constituents voted UDC in the last elections developments had halted.

He said before BDP was defeated, the hospital and a second police station were constructed and internal roads were regularly maintained.

Mr Ntapu said the P10 million for constituency community projects was not used wisely by incumbent MP, adding that Mahalapye had been neglected in the area of development.

He said the railway line offered the village a competitive advantage as a place to house major industries, adding that Mahalapye was made up of people of diverse cultures, and therefore a  cultural village could be one of the projects to be pursued to empower the community.

The BPF’s Mr Magapa said his party was determined to improve the quality of education.

“We want education with production. There is an urgent need to develop our education,”  he said.

Mr Magapa added that the BPF government would advocate for the revival of Mahalapye Trust.

He said BPF would also prioritise gender equality, with balance when it comes to leadership and empowerment opportunities.

Mr Magapa said the BPF government would strive for the revival of the agriculture sector to improve food production. He was concerned about unemployment, more especially among young  graduates, emphasising that crime was affecting the village because youth were idling.

On the other hand, BCP’s Mr Moncho said that politics for development should focus on improving living standards and the quality of life.

He said there were several issues that needed to be addressed to liberate Batswana from economic challenges. He said the youth were eager to work but employment was limited, which resulted in graduates roaming the streets.

If elected, he said, shortage of drugs and medicines in government clinics and hospitals would be a thing of the past.

Mr Moncho further said empowerment of informal sector was necessary and therefore this could be one of his mandate as well as the preservation of culture for future generations.

Mr Kadiwa of BRP decried the state of the Mahalapye bus rank, which, he said, was not working but a lot of money was poured into the project.

He said expectant mothers were not assisted accordingly at the hospital and most of them lost lives due to negligence of the health workers, adding that this was a testament that the current government was not capable of meeting Batswana’s needs.

Mr Kadiwa said if he elected, Botswana Power Cooperation (BPC) would expand its power lines in Mahalapye West, adding that the he would ensure that the council assisted informal sectors with shelters. ENDS