A test of will for Motsamai
Leinanyana Tsiane | Friday August 22, 2014 16:13
For a boy who had little to go with for motivation coupled with being responsible for his siblings at a young age, Motsamai’s circumstances negatively impacted on his school performance.
Now at the age of 42, he is in another test of wills for a seat in Parliament in the forthcoming general election, under the Umbrella for Democratic Change ticket.
Motsamai, born in Ncojane, said his was a sad upbringing marked by abject poverty. The poverty forced his mother to look for a job as a domestic worker in Namibia, whilst his father had to walk kilometres to look for piece jobs to fend for the family.
Motsamai said he did his Standard One to Standard Seven at Ncojane Primary School and went for his secondary education at Rethuseng Junior Community Secondary School.
“I went as far as Form Two at Rethuseng and did not do well, so I went to Gaborone and found a place at Bosele Private Secondary School to do my Form Three to Form Five. I paid for my school fees at Bosele by buying trinkets and some make up from Lobatse that I sold to people in Ncojane when schools closed,” Motsamai said.
It was during that period Motsamai was introduced to politics. While doing his Form Two, he used to frequent freedom squares to listen to politicians speak. However, it was Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) stalwart, Henry Jankie, who actually inspired Motsamai politically.
“Members of the BDP used to walk around with a live chicken and pluck its feathers. This was a symbol that they were going to do the same to the late Peba Sethantso who was a Botswana National Front member at elections’ time,” Motsamai said. He joined BNF immediately after finishing school and was an active member of the party, particularly in the Gaborone North constituency where the late Maitshwarelo Dabutha was Member of Parliament (MP) of the area.
Motsamai was also the chairperson of the Gaborone West branch under the late Paul Rantao. He has served in various ranks of the BNF in the party youth league, from being publicity secretary to vice president. “I then became the president of the youth league,” added Motsamai.
Motsamai proudly announced that since assuming the seat of councillor he has always stood unopposed, so for him going to the council was easy.
He said he has graduated from council and is ready to join Parliament to represent Gantsi South. He will contest against Christiaan de Graaff of BDP and Brains Kwadipane of BCP for the parliamentary seat. Motsamai said it was mother who inspired him and encouraged him to work hard, even during tough times.
When his mother went to work in Namibia, life changed for the better, as she was able to bring them goodies every time she visited.
According to Motsamai, seeing his mother struggle to put food on the table for them made him take politics very seriously. He was then able to sell himself to the people of Ncojane who voted him to council in 2009.
Motsamai revealed that politics in Gantsi is not an easy thing to venture into. People in this area do not vote for a capable person but rather a party, he said. He added that he is contesting with De Graaff who has enough money to buy handouts for the voters, including food rations, and t-shirts.
“Sometimes people can accuse you of not giving them money and food. They compare us to people with money power,” he said. He added that it is a good thing for those with the means to assist the ‘have-nots’, but it should not be to a point where politicians openly buy votes.
“It is a shame honestly,” he said.
The bad situation of roads in the Gantsi area is what politicians should be talking about. He also argued that students are failing dismally.
Motsamai complained about the lack of funding for opposition parties, saying that the business community is too scared of supporting them because the BDP threatens their operations by denying them tenders. He said the political landscape in Botswana has completely changed and said things are very different from the time of former presidents Sir Ketumile Masire and Festus Mogae. The two promoted unity amongst Batswana, despite political differences, he said.
“Remember the all-party conference that we used to have. It was a forum that we used to talk about the problems in our parties and all issues at hand. This has since stopped after President (Ian) Khama took over. There is no growth of democracy in Botswana,” said Motsamai. Motsamai is an avid listener of RBI’s Dipina Le Maboko programme, as he loves folk music and jazz. He will be launched this weekend in Charleshill.