Gale Ngakane
3 December 2008
Francistown — The usual pomp and ceremony that accompany Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) rallies visited Tonota North constituency where Finance Minister Baledzi Gaolathe and 10 council candidates were launched last Saturday.
It started at daybreak with a motorcade from Natale and stopovers at Mathangwane, Marobela, Sebina, Marapong and Mabesekwa wards.
Clad in red colours, members of the BDP descended on the main venue, Borolong Primary School in numbers to listen to Vice President, Mompati Merafhe as he launched Gaolathe and the councillors for the 2009 general elections.
Merafhe, left the crowd momentarily stunned with a tirade about gender balance. He decried the fact that all the councillors in Gaolathe's constituency are male.
"Why is it that there are only men? Where are the women? You know, these days, there is talk of women empowerment. That should be reflected in our politics as well," he said to a momentary pin-drop silence.
He added that in Mahalapye West constituency, he has balanced the equation with five men and five women councillors. "At the last elections, when my constituency was delimitated, I gave the other side to a woman," he said in reference to Botlogile Tshireletso who is now the Member of Parliament for Mahalapye East. The issue of gender balance was soon forgotten as Merafhe proceeded to praise Gaolathe, saying that as Finance Minister, he is a priceless asset to Botswana. "The reason we are where we are today is not that we are the only country in Africa with diamonds and other minerals. It is not so much the availability of these resources, but how we manage and husband them. That is why people like Gaolathe are priceless to this country. If you do not elect him, you will be depriving this country of one of its priceless assets."
Merafhe said Gaolathe is an international figure who rubs shoulders with who's who in the finance world. "I remember a trip I took with Gaolathe to the European Union (EU). After his presentation, some people could not hide their admiration for him and they came up to congratulate him," recalled Merafhe. He said the minister was unopposed in the ruling party primaries because he is a paragon in society.
"Had someone wanted to challenge him, some of us would have been forgiven for showing disrespect to such a person," said Merafhe. He said they are watching the rot and divisions in the opposition with interest. He said some opposition politicians are fleeing to the tranquil BDP waters. He said the opposition is in the habit of saying the BDP has ruled for long and yet some opposition MPs have been in Parliament for ages.
It the weekend launch, the BDP candidates were read the rules of the game or the party commandments. The candidates were told never to trade insults with the opposition.
"Choose issues that matter. Look around your constituency and find what is lacking. Tell your electorate how you are going to see to it that the situations change for the better," said Merafhe.
Gaolathe was at pains to explain why only male candidates have made it for council seats. "There were women who stood for positions in the wards. I just do not know how they failed to win against men. You have to realise that majority of voters are women, but they seem to have a tendency of voting against fellow women. We do not know why," Gaolathe told Mmegi after the rally. The branch chairperson, Sitoboke Lesetedi declined to comment on the gender imbalance and referred Mmegi to her secretary. The secretary said the issue was simply beyond her comprehension. "I just do not know why women are not electing their own. Ga ke itse tota, oa itse," a baffled branch secretary, Nkaa Tjiyapo said.
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