Lubinda decries the quality of education

Leinanyana Tsiane | Friday June 27, 2014 16:40

 

Lubinda says the system is not productive and cannot apply any skill learnt from school to be able to sustain one’s life if they fail to proceed to tertiary level. He is disheartened by the country’s education system.  “Education with production lacks in Botswana. It does not explore the talent that our children possess, instead it is more concentrated on the white-collar jobs which don’t exist anymore,” says the aspirant legislator. He says the school system in Botswana should be autonomous. They should be given authority to have access to their budget, to be able to have access to money for school maintenance. Lubinda says the majority of schools are in a bad state and school heads have to wait until someone from the ministry approves their maintenance.

He is of the view that the current system needs to be changed, adding that for the past 10 years Batswana have seen nothing but the poorest results. The school’s infrastructure is dilapidated and this does not in any way boost students’ moral.

The other burning issue is Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), which has repeatedly attacked cattle in Ngamiland. He says they have been waiting with baited breath for the vaccine.

“Right now cattle farming in Ngamiland is useless. People are not able to sustain their lives through selling them. The FMD has seriously affected our lives in a negative way. Our government does not care about its people. We can’t even advice people to embark on back yard gardening because we don’t have enough water supply in Maun,” says Lubinda.

He says one of the worst things that government is doing is exporting leather. He reasons that government should open factories that will produce leather goods, while the government is instead exporting Batswana jobs to these countries while Batswana children are suffering.

“One of the saddest issues that has been going on and on without any change is equal distribution of land. People have applied for plots and it takes years for the Land Board to allocate land to the people. Surprisingly, we see many foreigners being allocated land very quickly. This is an element of corruption.”

He alleges that some people have many plots, some as big as Lesotho and said this dishonesty by Land Board and government is doing nothing to address the situation. Just like other parliamentary candidates, Lubinda believes the tourism sector is key to the development of the region. He asserts that tourism in Ngamiland is enjoyed by foreigners and Batswana are just spectators watching outsiders running safari companies and lodges.

“Our children are just tour guides and housekeepers with minimal salaries. I am going to advocate for these kind of sad situations that we see happening here.”

He says Maun has grown drastically and the roads in the town need to be expanded.

“We need traffic lights to help ease traffic jam that we experience every morning and evening when people go and come from their workplaces. The roads in Maun have potholes and are not maintained,” notes Lubinda. Lubinda also decries the state of health facilities in the town, saying Letsholathebe Referral Hospital has shortage beds, bed linen and drugs. Patients are forced to buy their medication at pharmacies.  The former teacher left the public service in 2008 and joined the BCP in 2009. He says he chose the BCP because of its policies and manifesto and what they have in place for Batswana’s interest. He says when he joined politics, he knew nothing about it but was quick to learn from politicians and by attending political rallies. He once stood for council elections but lost the seat to the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) adding that that was a learning curve for him and he was not at all discouraged.

Lubinda is a staunch football fan and is one of the founders of Maun Tigers- he got his other name ‘States’ from playing football. He also played softball during his ‘hey days’. Country music and Rock ‘n Roll are his genres of choice. He relaxes by watching movies and reading novels.

He holds a degree in Education from University of Redding. He is a teacher by profession and retired from government where he served as a principal education officer for the North West Region.