|
|
Botswana: Former Mayor Beats a Retreat
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 25 March 2008
Kenneth Banda
Selebi-Phikwe
Former Selebi-Phikwe mayor, Benjamin Bagayi has quit the race for Selebi-Phikwe East parliamentary seat. The nominated councillor has now shifted his interest to Phikwe West's Tlhakadiawa council seat.
Bagayi has been out to contest the primaries for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) for the Selebi-Phikwe East parliamentary seat currently held by Nonofo Molefhi. The other figures interested in ousting Molefhi are former Selebi-Phikwe Town Clerk, Itireleng Phatshwane and Johannes Malepeng.
Sources said Bagayi decided to withdraw after he saw his chances diminished by the entrance of Phatshwane who is now seen as a front-runner in the race.
Bagayi said he changed his mind after considering a number of factors.
"All along I have been considering a lot of factors and I have decided to stand in Tlhakadiawa," Bagayi said.
He stated that he has considered his performance in the last elections for the council seat which he lost to Evelyn Kgodungwe and decided that he has a better chance this time.
"I was the only candidate behind Kgodungwe to poll more than 500 votes in an opposition stronghold. This means that people voted for the party and me as an individual," Bagayi said.
He is confident that, if he goes through the party primaries, he will topple Kgodungwe. "She is bound to fall. At least people have had time to compare me and Kgodungwe in terms of delivery in council and in the community. I believe that people have the answer now," Bagayi said.
He added that councillors should not be people who 'retire to council because it is not a place of tired people'. He said the council should not be used as a classroom for councillors to learn new things. Rather councillors should be elected to make a significant contribution to the development of the town.
"It is unfortunate that some people just contest elections without considering these issues. We have to ask ourselves if some candidates have the people's interests at heart. If it is so, then why do we have so many absentees during council meetings?" Bagayi queried.
He said Selebi-Phikwe residents should elect leaders based on merit. Bagayi noted that the council lost two valuable councillors, Kavis Kario and Super Koontse and there is need to come up with suitable replacements. Kario was elected MP for Phikwe West in 2004 while Koontse is pursuing business interests.
|
"We also lost other able councillors like (Susan) Phodiephatshwa and Tebogo Venson, who were beaten in 2004. It is against this background that I decided against standing for a parliamentary seat," Bagayi said.
Kgodungwe was unopposed in the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) primaries and her clash with Bagayi will be one of the most eagerly awaited in the next election.
However, Bagayi has to clear the first hurdle in the BDP primaries. The Botswana National Front (BNF) will be represented by Khumiso Basaako who was the party's candidate in 2004.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
