Molefe's odyssey into BDP politics
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday March 7, 2014 16:23
He immediately swapped his military fatigues for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) black, red and white attire. Apparently, the Mahalapye-based businessman-cum-politician has always had a soft spot for the ruling party even during his days as an active army officer. His ousting of the incumbent Mahalapye West MP Bernard Bolele last weekend was not a fluke. It was simply the culmination of hard work.
Molefe retired from his army job where he was the director of studies at the Force Training Establishment in the Mogoditshane headquarters.
One of his priorities at retirement was to establish himself politically and secure a business that will be his main livelihood. “When I left the army barracks that October 2004, I secured BDP life membership and that was when I started my activism in the BDP,” said Molefe, evidently content with the rewards of his political journey so far.
He said upon joining the party, he deliberately played a low-key role by attending BDP meetings without stepping on any toes. He did not immediately announce his political plans. It remained his closely guarded secret, which would only be revealed at the right time.
“I only supported the retired vice president and former Mahalapye West MP Mompati Merafhe on the outset and treaded carefully. “I did not want to be misconstrued for a meddler by stepping on the toes of the party’s old guards,” observed Molefe.
He did not immerse himself in the BDP traditional factions of Barata-Phathi and A-Team, as he did not see the value of doing so. He only wanted to start somewhere as a unique politician whose mission was to work with the people without considering their factional interests.
His support for Merafhe at some stage earned him sneers from people who labelled him Merafhe’s stooge. But Molefe said he was the least fazed by the accusations, as his political career was not founded on the shadows of any political master. His reasoning is that he is a self-made politician. He said that he is not trying to emulate anyone as he fears he could quickly run out of ideas. Since Mahalapye West constituency is a BDP-safe constituency, winning the party ticket is akin to winning the general elections. Before the weekend victory, he had lost twice to Bolele.
Firstly, it was in 2012, after Mahalapye West was declared vacant subsequent to the departure of Merafhe. Merafhe had retired from active politics that year, and Molefe grabbed hold of the opportunity.
He competed in the party primaries that year and came in third after Bolele was declared the winner and Moatshe Senai as runner-up. His loss did not dampen his spirits. Like a true army man, he waited for his second chance, fighting even harder in the process.
Last year in the party’s primaries, aptly dubbed Bulela Ditswe, Molefe realised victory was not a far-fetched notion as he found himself trailing the winner, Bolele.
He could not accept the results citing some noted irregularities. In a re-run ordered by the party last weekend, Molefe realised his long cherished dream. He won the primaries with 2,079 votes to Bolele’s 1,547 votes. He ascribed this long awaited victory to a plethora of attributes. He claimed that he saw his victory coming because the constituents understood him. His main advantage was that he has always been very close to the constituents whilst Bolele had to attend to parliament business in Gaborone.
What did Molefe do in his favour to win over the people of Mahalapye West this time around? Molefe said: “An aspiring representative of the people has to be available and accessible to the constituents all the time. “You really have to understand the needs of the people and be available whenever they need you. One has to have a listening ear.” To him, a true leader has to win over the people rather than be master over the constituents and them his servants. This, he said, is his model of a good leader.
“I have been active for 10 years in BDP politics. I definitely know the expectations of the people,” he said. His winning tactic at Saturday’s primaries is that it is important after losing for one to go back to the people and plead with them to vote for one next time.
“Every time after losing I went back to the people and encouraged them to consider me in future. I informed them about my availability and abilities,” said the politician who turns 53 years in August.
He described politics as a never tiring vocation, which he said was not for the feeble hearted. His view was: “Batho ba Mahalapye ba a reetsa fa motho a bua le bone. Ba rata therisanyo thata (The constituents do listen when people solicit for their votes.
Most importantly, they like being consulted over pertinent issues.)” He felt that it was always important for the MP to be available and accessible.
At his Ultra City business complex, they have a helping hand in the form of a fund targeting underprivileged members of society on a monthly basis. “Going to Parliament will be a bigger platform for me as I will have access to the powers that be to assist the needy members of our society and improve their lives,” he said. He did not think assisting the needy members of society through his business could be misconstrued to mean that he is buying favour from members of his party. To him, that means ploughing back the profits to the people who matter. He also established a busy horticulture business behind the Mahalapye State Prisons, known as Phokoje Greens, which sells fruits and vegetables.
This is a business, which supplies major chain supermarkets in Gaborone, Mahalapye, Palapye and Serowe. He was cautious and did not want to start his political voyage on the wrong footing. “I have started meeting my team, especially council candidates and those who have won and the losers. It’s all about encouraging them to work together and forget about the issues of Bulela Ditswe primaries,” he explained.
On Wednesday afternoon, he had a meeting with council candidates from the Bolele camp.
His main plan is to encourage all to bury the hatchet post the primaries as the challenge ahead is to win the general elections without any hitches. “Bulela Ditswe is not meant to break up people but it is simply a process of identifying candidates from a pool of interest politicians,” he emphasised.
Molefe plans to identify social ills bedevilling people and to tackle them together with all the relevant stakeholders. Once elected to Parliament, he will proactively share the National Development Plan (NDP) document with the constituents so that they can assist him going forward. Mahalapye is one of the areas hardest hit by youth unemployment and crime.
Molefe said he would have to cooperative with the police to educate the masses on how to prevent crime.
He said it is very important to familiarise the young people of Mahalapye West with government schemes targeting their interest groups. On the issue of health provision, Molefe is satisfied that both the Central District Council and the central government have been doing a good job but encouraged them to do even better.