Defeated Goya Had Big Plans For Palapye
Bonte Seepi | Monday October 28, 2019 11:30
The Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) fallen giant had plans to address the issue of construction of a new hospital as one of the major concerns in Palapye, a constituency along the A1 road which draws people of varying interests who would need such services.
Residents had decried that the current hospital is dilapidated and outdated though it still services many people from the village and surrounding areas.
The defeated Goya told The Monitor following his loss that a new health facility was one of his top priorities to deliver for Palapye, more so that Parliament is currently in the mid-term at National Development Plan level.
Just as constituents had complained, Goya said he shared their sentiments that the current hospital is too small and dated to keep servicing the population in the area along with other 23 surrounding Tswapong villages.
He added that he had planned to push for an internal dual road to reduce congestion, especially during month-end, saying the road would allow easy flow of traffic.
Goya said amongst other plans he had for the constituency, he wanted to donate full school uniforms to all pupils of Serorome and Boipuso primary schools as a way of helping unemployed parents struggling to buy their children complete uniforms. In addition, Goya said he would have strived to ensure that the pupils were all in the same standard.
Having lost at polls, Goya assured he would still go ahead with his plan to donate school uniforms to the schools next January.
The latter lost the area to Onneetse Ramogapi, who was contesting under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) by a slim margin of 330 votes.
Other candidates, who lost were Gape Motswaledi of the Alliance for Progressives (AP), Kolootamo Malefho of the newly formed Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) and Boniface Mankanku who dismally lost as an independent candidate.
Ramogapi made history by wrestling the constituency from the ruling party.Palapye had been deemed as one of the BDP strongholds and has never been won by opposition until in 2019 polls.
Goya, who had been Palapye Member for Parliament (MP) for the last 12 years after he took the baton from Boyce Sebetela, gave Ramogapi his blessing saying he trusts that as the successor he would continue where he left and ensure that he brings developments to the fast-growing village.
Unlike in the past election years, he said the 2019 polls were tough looking at the dynamics of the politics. According to him, should there been no BPF or AP, he would have retained the constituency.
“This (election) year’s dynamics were different, I was fighting hard. AP and BPF are BDP defects therefore some of the votes that could have been mine went to them.
So, some BDP votes were split amongst three parties. However, I am impressed that though it was tough I got an impressive number of votes,” he said.
He assured he would give Ramogapi support saying that unlike other constituencies, Palapye is intact and has most people there are familial, so there is no need to get into conflict.
Another loser, Malefho of the BPF also indicated that the issue of the hospital and a clinic with a maternity ward is one of those that were at the top of the list that he wished to address had he won.
However, he said it was important to respect the voters’ wishes and accept their choice. He said he would be contesting again in the coming elections in any of the constituencies he wishes to contest in.
As the incoming MP, Ramogapi promised to continue where Goya has left off and bring in more developments.