Ryder Gabathuse and Karabo Sename
6 November 2009
Francistown — Has the curtain finally fallen on one of the Francistown City Council (FCC)'s longest serving councillors, Motlatsi Molapise? The 65-year-old veteran politician was recently voted out after 25 continuous years of serving as a civic leader.
Former Mayor Molapise, who was a councillor for Boikhutso ward, became one of the casualties of this year's general elections, which were full of surprises.
Molapise, who originates from Mmadinare, says, "the people have spoken through their vote to bring in a new person". He is, however, proud that he has managed to bring developments to the ward. He is proud that he is leaving behind a good legacy because during his tenure he was development-oriented.
Molapise attributes his loss to the fact that initially he had no intention of standing for this year's election but was begged by his party and the supporters hence he started his campaigns very late.In fact, he has informed Mmegi several times that he was contesting the ward for the last time and only to try again and again.
He cannot help crying foul about voter trafficking by different candidates adding that it did not only happen in his ward but in different areas across the country as well.
"Yes, I have lost the elections, but I can tell you this time around I could sense that a lot of things were totally different. Voter trafficking seems to have been the in-thing in major villages, towns and cities," he said.
He was frustrated that whilst he understands the provision of the Electoral Act pertaining to inspection of the voters' roll, he says it is not easy in a big city to know all the strangers ferried in from neighbouring constituencies.
He is cautious not to name names as he states that it is not easy to "prove voter trafficking beyond reasonable doubt" because they (candidates) do not know most of the residents by name.
Molapise also suspects bribery to be another factor that led to his downfall."People are poor and they receive money and other items," he says without elaborating. As he says all these things, Molapise is showing signs of frustration on his face."I would have long handed this ward over, but the party and the constituents insisted that I should carry on. Well, it was not my day."
Molapise lost the ward to a newcomer and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) councillor, Robert Mosweu, who garnered 535 votes followed by Botswana Democratic Party (BDP's) Martha Motswere, who had 381 votes.
Molapise finished third with 272 votes, while Botswana National Front's (BNF) Kenosi Mogotsi trailed with 40 votes. The former councillor fell in love with Botswana Peoples Party (BPP) during his school days when the party was under the leadership of its charismatic leader, the late Phillip Matante.
He was still at primary school at his home village, Mmadinare.When he relocated to Francistown in 1967 he found the BPP as a dominant force and he easily joined. He became a councillor in 1984 and he never looked back since then. He also says that he liked the BPP style of politics then, which was more into advocating for the equality of tribes. BPP, which then was identified as the vanguard of the nation, preached politics of empowerment of the blacks against white settler domination.He says that nowadays, politics is full of tricks and it is a survival of the fittest.He added that these days money also plays a big role. He says that those days politics was between the white people and Botswana politicians, but nowadays the fight is between Batswana and the subjects being the economy and societal ills.He says he has always tried his level best to maintain order in his ward. He added that he is also happy with the developments that took place in the ward during his tenure as a ward councillor."I am so proud, I have managed to bring electricity, water reticulation, sewage connection into yards and the first Day Care Centre in Boikhutso. All the roads are tarred." Molapise says some of the things that he was and still is against, include the issue of cohabitation and alcohol abuse among the youth in Boikhutso ward.
He says that his honesty kept him popular in the ward, but also pointed out that some people were not happy with that. "I was always honest with my voters and that made me popular even though there were few people who were not happy with that."
The former councillor says he always encouraged the people at Boikhutso ward to reduce their alcohol consumption. He added that he advised them to use the little money they got wisely. As a teetotaler, he speaks the language of President Ian Khama that Batswana should not take alcohol as it is ruining their lives.In particular, Molapise feels that the youth of Boikhutso ward were abusing alcohol more than the elderly people.He expressed concern about the declining party membership. He pointed out at lack of financial resources and poor media coverage as some of the factors that contribute to his party's dwindling fortunes.
He believes his party policies are fine and lambasted the media for covering parties that have large numbers even if what they are saying lacks substance. Molapise, a pastor at St Mary's Church, says he will now be able to concentrate on his livestock business at the Seokane cattlepost near Topisi and Moreomabele.But he said he would always avail himself whenever his services are needed by the party.The former councillor's previous employers include Haskins, Optical Centre, Sefalana and Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC). He was the fourth ward councillor after Tlhogo Nfila, Solomon Sehume and Ephraim Mpuchane all from the BPP.
He was a mayor from 1994 to 1997.From 2000, he was the president of the party until 2003 when he handed the baton to the current leader, Bernard Balikani. Currently, he is the party Chairman.
Molapise says BPP policies are very good and insisted that although the party fortunes were dwindling, there was nothing really wrong with the BPP. What makes the BPP different from other political organisations, Molapise claims, is the fact it preaches clean politics that is free from politics of mudslinging and character-assassination.
"For the BPP to gain ground, cadres should recommit themselves and take the party to greater heights again." He agrees that given the developments on the political landscape, it seems the politics of the BPP is no longer relevant.
He is proud that when he first contested at the Boikhutso ward, which was by then known as Somerset West, it was a squatter settlement with no services at all."I have played my part in ensuring that services are brought to this ward and the lives of the people have changed significantly. My name will go down in the history books as one councillor who spent all his adult life serving the people," he said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 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.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
