Mogoditshane now there for the taking
Mompati Tlhankane - Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday February 20, 2023 06:00
With the Delimitation Commission actually confirming that it becomes Mogoditshane East and West in their recent report, the constituency is now there for the taking especially for various politicians who have been battling for the area in the past general elections.
The Delimitation Commission revealed that the reason for splitting Mogoditshane is that the population of Mogoditshane village warrants the creation of an additional constituency despite its compactness and good communication network.
“The Commission resolves to retain Mogoditshane constituency and realign its boundaries by removing Nkoyaphiri ward from the constituency, join it to Tsolamosese ward from Gabane-Mmankgodi constituency and create another new constituency,” read the report. The Commission added that it acknowledges and appreciates submissions and proposals made by constituents.
Constituents submitted that their constituency has grown in terms of population due to its close proximity to Gaborone city. In their proposals they suggested the commission to remove some localities from other constituencies and add them to the constituency and divide into two.
“Remove localities of Tsolamosese (Block 4 and 7), Morope (Block 10), Diagane (Blck 9) and Mogoditshane Block 11 which are part of Mogoditshane village from Gabane-Mmakgodi constituency and Mmopane-Lentsweletau constituency, add them to the constituency and divide into two,” the constituents suggested. They also suggested that Ledumadumane ward be removed from the constituency and added to any new constituency that includes Mmopane village. In terms of boundaries, one of the options was to use Gaborone-Molepolole road (A12) as a boundary between the two proposed constituencies and name them Mogoditshane North and Mogoditshane South.
When making the final decision, the Commission noted that the newly established Mogoditshane-Thamaga district incorporates Mogoditshane, Gabane-Mmankgodi, Thamaga-Kumakwane constituencies and some parts of Lentsweletau-Mmopane constituency. Incumbent legislator Tumiso Rakgare had long asked for the constituency to be divided since the population has doubled in an 11-year period between 2011 and 2022.
He admitted that it was difficult to service such huge number of people and also address their complaints. Contacted for comment following the Delimitation Commission’s decision to split his constituency into two, Rakgare said he was happy that Mogoditshane has been given another constituency. “As residents of Mogoditshane we are happy about the delimitation report.
It was long overdue looking at our population and again it was difficult to be an MP of over 80,000 people. Mogoditshane has been left out in terms of development. It was difficult for us to accesses resources. “At least we are going to have a mini hospital, police post and now Ledumadumane residents will be able to connect water into their homes,” he said.
Asked where he will contest among the two constituencies Rakgare said he has not decided. “I am contesting for MP seat and I am going to win even at general elections,' he confidently pointed out.
For his part, member of Alliance for Progressives (AP) and former Mogoditshane legislator Sedirwa Kgoroba said he doesn’t have any problem with how the constituency was divided. “Basically there was nothing we could do in this delimitation exercise. We were ready for anything just to avoid frustration. It doesn’t matter what we wanted because the BDP does it as it pleases.
How it is divided is not an issue but the concern is that Batswana don’t want the BDP. Even when it is divided people will still not vote for the BDP,” Kgoroba added. He said since the constituency is divided into east and west, he would like to contest for the latter as it is his home.
He, however, said he can’t comment further on where he is going to contest because the AP is in a coalition with the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana Labour Party (BLP) therefore he has to respect what decision makers say about the allocation exercise. Kgoroba said despite dividing Mogodistshane into two, challenges still cut across like crime, unemployment, crowded schools and land allocation.
Kgoroba was a Member of Parliament (MP) under the Umbrella for Democratic Chance (UDC) ticket between 2014 and 2019 before his then party, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) split to form the AP.
Kgoroba failed to retain his parliamentary seat in the 2019 General Election and Rakgare snatched it from him. Kgoroba had beat Rakgare before in the 2014 General Election in what was a tightly contested race. Rakgare at the time was with the BCP. Another MP aspirant Tshephang Mabaila, who is known for some charitable projects in the area, is setting his eyes on Mogoditshane despite currently serving suspension from his mother party, the BDP. In the 2018 BDP primary elections, Mabaila won to secure the constituency candidacy.
But in the same year Mabaila was slapped with a five-year suspension by the BDP national disciplinary committee for influencing two BDP legislators to pass the motion of no confidence against President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Mabaila’s suspension then forced the BDP to hold a re-run which saw Rakgare beating former Mogoditshane MP, Patrick Masimolole. Now Mabaila, who still maintains that he had done nothing wrong, told Mmegi in an interview this week that Mogoditshane’s two constituencies is a welcome development and was long overdue. He added that Mogoditshane has grown over the years and had become a business hub for all kinds of businesses especially imported vehicles. “Obviously, the area is close to my heart, the people are close to my heart.
I’m not going to hide and claim I have no aspirations of leading the people of Mogoditshane. The area is definitely there for the taking for me or anyone else that the people of Mogoditshane would accord the opportunity,” he emphasised. Mabaila, who after his suspension chose to contest the 2019 general election as an independent candidate and lost, said his five year suspension comes to an end this year in August therefore he is quite hopeful that he will contest under the same banner of the party he has been advocating which is the BDP.
The BDP primaries might be held before Mabaila’s suspension elapses. Asked about his plans and considering the opposition as an alternative Mabaila said: “Mine is simple, to see that President Masisi continues as President, whether I contest or not, pardoned or not.” Mabaila said splitting the constituency into two will cushion the situation because youth unemployment is top of the list. “There is lack of opportunities for locals in all kinds of business from agriculture to manufacturing.
We should be seeing one of our own being able to compete with foreigners who have dominated these industries here,” he highlighted. The trio of Rakgare, Kgoroba and Mabaila all contested the last general election and managed to amass 7,093, 1,042 and 751 respectively. Rakgare beat his closest opponent by 3,683 votes. Mozambia Dibe of the UDC was the one who seconded Rakgare with 3,410 votes while Bruce Nkgakile who was then contesting under the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) ticket came last with 291 votes.
Mogoditshane is surely one of the areas which have amassed a lot of population and it has even spilled to other neighbouring villages like Gabane and Mmopane.
Now with two constituencies, MP aspirants will have to move quickly to plan for campaigns ahead of primaries and consequently the general election. Voters want growth and to be provided with the basic services such as infrastructure, and affordable housing as the population expands. With most people moving to the city to find jobs, this has forced Mogoditshane as an urban settlement to meet accelerated demand for affordable housing, well connected transport systems, and other amenities. Mogoditshane village, which borders Gaborone, faces challenges in meeting the needs of the growing urban populations.