The Old Railway Engines

Transport train engine at Pilane 69
Transport train engine at Pilane 69

When that train came off the line somewhere between Lobatse and X, it struck me that this may have been the first time that many people had come close to one of today’s diesel electric engines.

Yet in the past, the old coal-fired Garrets were familiar to everyone living in the country’s eastern strip as indeed were the mixed and mail trains. In 2009, however, the old passenger service was discontinued but brought back in 2016 to provide for the minority elitist passenger rather than, as in the past, the majority.

The result has been that the railway, which was a part of everyone’s life, is now part of no ones, or at least only of a privileged few. In addition, the new passenger train travels at night so that only few of us ever see it either close up or from a distance.

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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