Chandapiwa Baputaki
20 November 2009
New Gaborone Mayor Veronica Lesole believes that she did not get the post because the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) wanted to prop up women.
"They believe in me looking at the qualities I have as a leader. I hate to fail people and if you give me a job, I want to see it done," the 56-year-old politician said yesterday. For the next two and a half years she will be the driving force in GCC. She is the first BDP mayor, after two decades of Botswana National Front (BNF) hegemony. "It is very exciting for me to be mayor after this long control by the opposition. It is even more exciting that most of the councillors are from the ruling party and the opposition is the minority. It will be easy to work with them to deliver on the projects. We will include those from the opposition in our decision making," she explained.
She pointed out that from 1984 to 1989, she was a councillor for Tsogang ward, while she worked for Botswana Diamond Valuing Company. She left the company last year voluntarily to concentrate on politics. "Since then I have been working with the people at the ward, not like I was starting to work with them but I became very active like never before. I held the position of BDP secretary for the Gaborone Region before taking over the chairmanship when the then chairperson Gomolemo Motswaledi was suspended. This is the position I am holding to this day," Lesole said. She is a very familiar face among BDP members in Gaborone. She has been a member of the Political Education and Elections Committee of the party. She said the committee is largely responsible for the party's win in the elections especially in Gaborone.
At the city council, she said she will continue with road maintenance projects, repair of the sewage system, streets lights and collection of rubbish. "It is my challenge and responsibility to see to it that we unite as GCC to bring developments to the people of Gaborone. We need to consult with the people in our wards and take the plans of what needs to be done from the Ward Developments Committees and bring them for approval in council. It is the responsibility of all the councillors to go back to the people and consult them," she asserted.
Lesole indicated that her main worry is the people who stay in SHHA and do not pay service levy or the loans they took to build their houses. "We are being given only 80 percent from the recurrent budget and we must make plans of raising the other 20 percent. This 20 percent is the money that people are failing to pay back for the services given to them," she explained.
The mayor stated that because of the global economic downturn, some projects, like the beautification of the Main Mall have been cut down. "My wish as I embark on this job is to have open spaces for the vendors to operate from instead of them to be all over the city. We could make them temporary shelters to operate from," she said.
She suggested that residents in low income locations need more public health education to stop the use of pit latrines or flushing big objects down their toilets.
Lesole is a member of the Gaborone Toast Masters Club that teaches leadership and communication skills. She is a member of the UCCSA and Trinity Church choir. She is a single parent of 35-year-old Masego Kwape.
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