By-election candidates reveal playbooks
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday April 10, 2023 06:00
Bonyongo had won the ward in 2019 with 692 votes. He was followed by the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), an independent candidate and Botswana Patriotic Change (BPF) with 356, 321 and 176 votes respectively.
The political dynamics in the ward have now changed. As such, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), an affiliate of the Umbrella for Democratic Change), will slug it out with the UDC. The BCP has been consistently losing recent by-elections to the UDC which also consists of the BPF, the Botswana National Front (BNF) and the Botswana People’s Party (BPP).
But the BCP candidate, Nthomamisi Ndaba, 52, who was chosen by consensus to represent the party in the upcoming by-election, is optimistic of winning the ward. Revealing his manifesto for the ward, Ndaba said that he intends to address the issue of unpaved and untarred roads in the area if he is voted councillor. “Our internal roads in the ward are in a very bad state.
The road from Mapoka to the kgotla should be paved. The shortest road that is used by the people of Kgari to go to the clinic also needs to be paved. I will advocate the Kgari satellite clinic to be upgraded to a full scale clinic. I also advocate the Mapoka clinic to operate for 24 hours because it has a maternity ward.
I will fight very hard for the road from Nlaphkwane passing through Mani via Masukwane to be paved,” said Ndaba. Ndaba, an educationist who was once a lecturer at Madiba Brigade, is also concerned by the poor results of the Batanani Junior Secondary School (BJSS).
Ndaba revealed that he holds an Advanced Diploma in Construction Engineering (City and Guilds, London, United Kingdom), and another Diploma in Construction Engineering (Project Management) BJSS results can improve if teachers at the school are transferred within a reasonable period. “The results of the school are poor because some teachers at the school have been stationed there for a very long time. They need to be transferred in order for the results to improve. The school hostels are in a very bad shape. Water is overflowing at these hostels.
I will also fight for the community of Mapoka-Nlaphkwane to be assisted timeously whenever they visit public facilities. I want to accomplish all that I intend to do once voted as a councillor within one year,” said Ndaba. Ndaba also told Mmegi that he trained to be a lecturer at Botswana Polytechnic. “In 1993, I was hired by the Ministry of Finance as a technician.
I worked for the ministry until 2016 and was promoted to principal technician (projects). In June, 2016, I worked for the Ministry of Education until I retired in March this year as a senior clerk of works (projects). I have dedicated my life to serving other members of the community, especially the underprivileged. I have donated uniforms and furniture to Mapoka Primary School.
I have also donated food during the schools’ prize giving ceremony. I have also donated furniture to Mapoka Kgotla and Head Mountain of God Apostolic Church in Zion which was attended by the late councillor Bonyongo. I strongly believe that the people of Mapoka-Nlaphkwane know my deeds very well and will entrust me with becoming their new councillor,” hopeful Ndaba said.
Meanwhile, the UDC candidate Nabulani Lenyatso, pleads with the people of Mapoka-Nlapkhwane to send him to the council because he will address the issue of high water bills which are caused by estimation. “This issue has been going on for a very long time and is making people pay for water that they did not consume, especially some elderly people who don’t know how to read. If the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) can employ people, especially young people from this ward, it will go a long way in creating jobs for these unemployed youths. I will also advocate the creation of a community fund, which will allow people to borrow from it with low interest rates in order to buy their essential needs,” said Lenyatso. Lenyatso is also decrying the poor state of internal roads in the ward.
“Our internal roads are in a very poor state and they flood during the rainy season hampering the movement of children to go to school hence the need to improve the water drainage system in the ward. Also, farmers in this ward don’t have the market to sell their produce from their farms. I will advocate the farmers to sell their produce to schools within the ward so that our children can consume a better diet. This will also alleviate poverty in the community. In the same vein, I will encourage people in my ward to sell their produce at the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) as a group to save funds,” said Lenyatso.
Lenyatso said the Mapoka-Nlapkhwane ward is faced with various problems that he intends to address within a very short period of time once voted as councillor but there are some that he wants to prioritise. Professionally, Lenyatso is an accountant and member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) and Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) fellow (Diploma CIPS Level 4). The aspiring councillor also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management and Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Level 4. He has worked for Multotec Group of Companies, Tebelopele Voluntary Counselling and Testing, Botswana Red Cross Society, the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund, Panda Group (Brick Build, Panda Quarry and Panda Plant) and Morupule Colliery Limited. The BDP candidate, Thomas Tshabalala, says he has been active in the community affairs of the ward since 2006 when he relocated from Gaborone to the ward to start his fuel and transportation enterprises. “I have been participating in the Ward Development Committee in this ward and I am a patron of Togani Primary School. I normally sponsor school children and I am currently sponsoring five learners.
I am usually invited to speak at various ceremonies like World AIDS Day as the main speaker. I grew up and went to school in Mapoka. I am one of the pillars of Kgapoma, an acronym of Kgari, Pole and Mapoka villages. I sponsor the annual Kgapoma Football Tournament that is held on a rotational basis in these villages. We do this to encourage small business people in these villages to thrive,” said Tshabalala. Tshabala said the stood for the BDP primary elections on three occasions but he was not successful. He also stated that he wants to create employment for people in the ward, especially the youth who are afflicted by the high rate of unemployment. “There are a lot of business ideas such as the creation of poultries and bakeries among others that the youth in this ward can explore. I am a youth-oriented person. I am better placed to be voted as a councillor because I know what the people of this ward need because I was once the chairperson of the WDC. I know the priorities of the ward because they were presented during my chairmanship of the WDC. I want to continue where Bonyongo left. I also want to address the issue of internal roads throughout the ward. The roads are in a poor state and they should be tarred to facilitate easy movement of people and vehicles in the ward,” said Tshabalala. He added that he has already informed the area legislator about the state of roads in the ward and some of them have been approved for funding. If voted to council, Tshabalala also wants to turn the rock footprints at Nlaphkwane as a tourist attraction.
“The rock paintings can be explored as a tourist attraction just like the Matsieng footprints. People who frequent these footprints can also use the facility to host various social gatherings at a fee. The money generated from this can be used for the benefit of the people in this ward. There is also the issue of shortage of accommodation for government workers in the ward that should be addressed with immediate effect. This will enable workers to carry out their duties effectively. I want various government departments (police, nurses, amongst others) to have a healthy working relationship. If voted to go to the council, I will also address the issue of poor water circulation in the ward. I want water and electricity to be connected where it was not previously connected,” said Tshabalala who was the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of TAFIC Football Club when it won the Coca-Cola Cup in 2002. “I am a founder and manager of Kgari Football Club.
Educationally, I hold a Diploma in Sales and Marketing from Damelin College. I have worked as a regional manager for Namibia Breweries. I have also worked for Parmalat as a branch manager. I am appealing to all people who voted during the 2019 general elections to vote for the BDP,” said Tshabalala.