It�s down to the wire at Kelemogile ward
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday July 15, 2016 12:06
In a tour of Ramotswa this week, the Mmegi crew found a village deeply divided over which party they would vote for on Saturday.
“It is difficult to tell which party will win. Each party is doing its best to win because they are regularly doing house-to-house campaigns. But the ruling one seems to have resources because people eat lunch and supper at their camping area. I understand that already they have slaughtered six cattle,” said elderly Mmaobene Phetwe. She said some people campaigning for the BDP had promised them radios. “The tricky part of this ward is that the ward is a stronghold of the BCP and people liked the late councillor. That again cannot control people’s votes. Residents of this ward are not predictable,” she said.
Another resident, Keorapetse Motsumi had this to say, “Golo fa go thata. I will make my decision on Saturday. Most of the people who stay here are Balete and we don’t like our views to be known before we decide. A party that will win might not win with a big margin because of the holiday. People should know that there was a way Rakgomo was relating to people. The late councillor was voted by people from across the party divide”.
He observed that rallies might mislead, as political parties mostly bring outsiders to attend thus making it difficult to gauge the mood on the ground. “We know each other in this ward and Friday (today) that’s when we will voice out.” Nametso Mogatle opined that, “If the BCP does not win the ward it will be simply because the candidate is a woman. Usually people have less trust on women than men. The other issue is that she is not known that much like the late Rakgomo. The BDP is promising people jobs and development in the area. Some may want to try it.”
Oshadi Mogopa also believes it will go down to the wire. “Is difficult to say (who will win) because at times we don’t vote for a party but a candidate. What people should know is that the late councillor was working hand in hand with his people. He was always there when we needed him most. Residents of this ward had a good working relationship with him,” Mogopa said. She said the outcome of the elections would depend on how each party had campaigned. But Mogopa did not rule out the BCP retaining the ward. “Ba ka nna ba e wina ka lebaka la gore mo councillor wa pele o berekile sentle le batho. Gape banana ba kgaolo ya rona e kare ke yone party e ba e ratang thata.” The BCP deputy campaign manager Andrew Mabeo said they are optimistic that they will retain the ward looking at their target. “In politics we work by numbers. If we manage to locate our members where they are then we are certain of victory. The most important thing again is to set yourself a certain target that one wants to reach,” Mabeo said.
He said their advantage is that they started their campaigns well in time and the late Rakgomo’s family gave them the go ahead. Mabeo said though they do not have enough resources, he was happy that all opposition parties have tried to channel their resources to the by-election.
“This is one of the wards that the BCP members resides in. Again it does not have a lot of residents like other wards. People know where others are.”
The BDP campaign manager Matshediso Fologang also believes that they have a chance. “We have realised that the BCP had a strong candidate compared to us in 2014. Our candidate has been working hand in hand with people in different societies. Again we have a strong campaign team and people seem to understand our message better,” Fologang said.
He said that party members in their area had been more cooperative than before.
Challenges of Kelemogile ward are; internal roads are not tarred, storm water drainage is bad as floods usual affect people’s homes during the rainy season and there is a high employment rate.
There is also a part of the ward that usually does not get water because the water pressure is low.
In the last general elections, BCP garnered 1,069, BDP 550 and UDC 65.