If Gaborone were not the capital

Gaborone
Gaborone

There were nine possible places originally identified to be the site of Botswana’s capital city when its development was first mooted. Staff Writer, THALEFANG CHARLES, explores the shortlist of places that lost out in the race to become Bechuanaland’s legislative headquarters

In September 1960 Peter Fawcus, the British Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, set up a committee to advise where the ‘permanent legislative headquarters’ (it was yet to be understood that this automatically meant a new capital) should be located.

The following year, nine places were considered, namely, Lobatse, Manyana, Shashe, Bokaa, Mahalapye, Dibete, Tuli Block, Francistown and Gaborone. The committee recommended Gaborone to the Legislative Council.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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