Dr Alfred Madigele: Botswana�s youngest cabinet member

Ulla Setswalo | Tuesday December 16, 2014 20:05

 

He surely looks suave in his tailored suit and really seems comfortable in his position. And ladies will be happy to know that he is one of Botswana’s most eligible bachelors.

He is the youngest member of Botswana’s cabinet at age 38.

Our conversation begins with the Minister telling me about his background, that he was born and bred in the town of Lobatse, popularly known as Bandleng.

He is the third born of seven children.

“I did my primary up to high school in Lobatse and because I was a fairly bright student, I was accepted into University of Botswana (UB) to pursue my Bachelor of Science,” explains Madigele.

He also reveals that he enjoyed drama and debate as a pupil in Lobatse, though teachers always encouraged him to also join the science club.

After UB, he went to Ireland for five years instead of six to pursue his dewgree in medicine because he skipped a class thanks to his impressive results at UB.

However, Madigele says skipping class was challenging because he was behind, but he managed to succeed nonetheless.

After completing his studies in Ireland, Madigele was employed for a year at one of the biggest hospitals in Ireland called Limerick Regional Hospital as a Medical Officer.

“I returned home after a year’s work because I wanted to be closer to my family and also to work on some personal things,” says Madigele.

Upon his arrival in Botswana, Madigele was employed by Princess Marina Hospital at the accident and emergencies ward for a year.

As ambitious as he is, he felt it was time to venture into business, so  he opened his own private clinic as a general practitioner.

He went on to do private surgeries and also ran a couple of clinics. Besides running a private clinic, Madigele also had a medical consultation company and was also the doctor for various companies in Gaborone.

On the lighter side, Madigele loves relaxing with friends, doing outdoor activities, traveling and reading.

Madigele’s earlier interest in debate  led him to become interested in politics. From an early age, Madigele was exposed to politics, as his uncle, Rex Mafoko was a Botswana National Front for Lobatse.

“I drew inspiration for politics from also reading books about political legends Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela,” reveals Madigele.

In 2004, he joined Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) although his family was a strong BNF household. In 2011, Madigele became active in politics, especially after he completing a Corporate Governance course in South Africa.

He says:  “BDP has always resonated with me, especially their values of democracy, self-reliance and progressiveness, to mention a few.”

The love Madigele has for his party can be seen in how his face lights up when he talks about BDP.

He truly believes in his party and that as a Member of Parliament, he can do more for his constituency and his Ministry because he has a wealth of experience and passion.

Madigele believes in the free market economy wherein anyone can trade and as a BDP strategist, he believes he can help in transforming and keeping his party the success it has always been.

In life, pushing the boundaries has always driven Madigele;  he believes he can achieve anything that he he sets his mind to.

He brings fresh ideas to MoH and will focus on four major areas of concern including;  improving access to health facilities, quality health improvement, introduction of accreditation by Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA) and customer care initiatives from the front desk to the theatre table.

Further to that, Madigele will focus on supply chain of medicines and supplies which this have been an issue for MoH.

Also, the welfare of MoH staff will be improved because if the Ministry takes care of its staff then they will be happy hence doing their jobs efficiently.

Madigele’s father is one of his biggest inspirations as he always saw how his father would help others selflessly and respectfully.

As a father of two sons and a daughter, Madigele strives everyday to work harder and help his country move forward.

“I love the fact that in cabinet, age is just a number, everyone is respected and their idea or view is taken into consideration regardless of age,” notes Madigele.

However, his job has its challenges especially since it’s a national assignment unlike what he was accustomed to at his private practice.

On the other hand, he loves travelling, meeting people, getting ideas, sharing solutions and having independent thought plus all the incentives that come with the job.

Madigele reveals that everything is made possible by his amazing team at work, the likes of MoH Minister Dorcus Makgatho, Treasure Mothobi and his Permanent Secretary Dr Kolaatamo Malefho, to mention a few.

According to Madigele, he would love to continue being MP for his constituency in 2019 going forward as he believes he can develop and help his constituency and its people.

He would love to leave a legacy when he leaves office. All he wants is to see a balance between the welfare of the staff and services being delivered effectively at MoH.

At MoH, Madigele wants to change things and says he can already see a light at the end of the tunnel.

He foresees that in a year or so, there will be less shortage of drugs as they are busy linking Central Medical Stores with health facilities through IT connections. In 2015, Madigele and his team will visit health facilities to inspect and meet the staff nationwide. He also wants MoH to continue benchmarking with other nations to seek assistance, especially on the technical side.

As a BDP strategist, he will focus on Bulela Ditswe to see how the party can improve as Bulela Ditswe was one of the contributing factors to the party’s poor performance at this year’s elections.

“We have a task force at BDP assigned to review Bulela Ditswe so as to regain all seats in 2019 and also achieve this by winning over the youth.”